


From Ash and Embers

by whimsical whispers (Kiyoko_Michi)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Fix-It, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Porn, M/M, Misunderstandings, Portgas D. Ace Lives, romantic and/or platonic soulmates, the Spade Pirates deserve better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:42:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28717482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyoko_Michi/pseuds/whimsical%20whispers
Summary: Ace knew he has cursed blood for as long as he can remember. When his soulflowers never show up, it’s just another sign he wasn’t meant to be born. Then he finds his brothers. His crew. People he’d die for.It takes longer to learn how to live for them instead.
Relationships: Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, implied Koala/Sabo (One Piece), pre-Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 162
Kudos: 357





	1. Soulflowers and Sabo

When Ace is seven, he looks for his soulmate’s flowers every day. He’s thorough about it too; he finds a cracked mirror in Gray Terminal, and he spends an hour each day just looking. His back, his face, between his toes. Everywhere. He doesn't care what kind of flowers, though everyone likes talking about what flowers mean and which ones are best.

Gramps isn't good at explaining things. This is important, though, so he tries. He shows Ace his own flower too: a tattoo of a lotus. It was where his soulmate had a scar, back before she died and the real lotus faded. He tells Ace he needs to be patient. Some people aren't fighters or don't get hurt much, which is stupid. Of course Ace's soulmate isn't gonna be weak. They've gotta be a fighter like Ace, and that means they'll have bruises and scrapes like Ace too. So where are they?

Just one, he thinks. Just one, so he knows he's not alone.

He checks, and he checks, and he checks, but he never finds anything. So when Ace is eight, he gives up on his soulmate. He throws out the cracked mirror and starts wearing sleeves so he doesn't get tempted to search for soulflowers again. There's never anything there anyway, and he's sick of being disappointed.

He was born with cursed blood anyway. Born wrong, born late, so why would he have a soulmate anyway?

Gramps doesn't say anything the next time he visits. Ace watches him too, ready to attack at the first sign of pity, but Gramps just looks kinda sad before going back to normal and starting another one of his stupid training trips.

* * *

When Ace first meets Sabo, he’s just some kid fighting off a man three times his size. Ace stops and watches, since he almost never comes across other kids and especially not people who can put up a fight. His clothes are all weird, and he doesn’t have any backup. He's alone. Probably new to the Terminal too, considering how much he sticks out.

He wins, though. Bruised and bleeding, he knocks the adult to the ground and starts riffling through his pockets, grinning. He has a whole bag with him, small but definitely full of valuables. That decides it.

Ace jumps down from his perch, landing softly on the ground. It takes the kid a moment to realize he was there—poor observation, another mark against him—and his eyes light up.

“Hey, you’re my age! I’m Sabo. It’s nice to meet you.”

He holds out a hand, and it takes Ace a moment to realize this Sabo wants him to shake it. He’s really new then. People in Gray Terminal don’t do useless things like shake somebody’s hand before trying to gut them. Ace brandishes his pole instead. The kid drops his hand, but his smile only widens as he falls into a fighting stance. He lasts longer than any of the adults have in a while, but he’s still no match for Ace.

Ace leaves him collapsed and bleeding between the trash heaps. He doesn’t bother remembering his name.

* * *

Normally, when Ace beats somebody, they stay down and avoid him afterward. Sometimes they get a group together for an ambush, but Ace is pretty good at avoiding those. He’s promised himself that, soon, he won’t have to hide at all. He’ll get strong enough to beat them up, no matter how many he has to fight at once.

A week later, though, the kid shows up again. Ace is finishing up with some rich guy’s bodyguard when he hears a battle cry and spun around to block a pipe from taking off his head. He only recognizes the kid since he’s still wearing the weird hat.

“I’ve been looking for you! You stole my treasure!” he shouts, brandishing his pipe in Ace’s face.

“So?”

The kid hesitates, like there’s some kind of script and Ace isn’t following it. Ace doesn’t care. He’s reluctantly impressed though; not many people challenge him after he’s kicked their ass, and the surprise attack with the pipe wasn’t half bad.

The kid makes some noise about challenges and taking his money back, but Ace doesn’t pay attention until he starts swinging the pipe. The kid lasts longer this time, but Ace is still stronger. Ace leaves him groaning on the ground as he wanders further towards the city, looking for his next target.

He doesn’t expect to see the kid again. He’s proven he’s stronger, and twice is enough to rub it in the guy’s face. Except, he keeps showing up. For days then weeks. It becomes a tradition: Ace stumbles over him or the guy searches him out, and they fight. Ace isn’t sure how much is luck and how much is the guy tracking him, but Ace doesn’t dislike it. Having a rival is almost nice.

“What’s your name?” the kid asks one day, panting on the ground after Ace tossed him over his shoulder.

Ace isn’t sure why he pays attention. They don’t talk. Ace isn’t interested in what he has to say anyway, no matter how interesting a fighter he is. Something makes him stop, and he turns back to the boy still splayed out on the grass.

“What do you care?” Ace says.

“I’m sick of calling you angry pipe boy, for one.”

The kid picks his head up long enough to smile at Ace. Ace doesn’t react. He certainly doesn’t smile back.

“Most of them call me the demon kid,” Ace says because it’s true. He’s heard the rumors. He has a reputation now, and plenty of idiots would rather blame supernatural stuff than their own weakness after getting beaten up by someone half their size.

“I’m not calling you that. It’s stupid.”

Ace doesn’t quite smile, but he gets close. “Yeah, well, people are stupid,” Ace says. A stray impulse makes him continue. “If it matters to you so much, my name’s Ace.”

Immediately, the other boy breaks into a smile, like Ace offering his name is some great victory. Ace considers asking for the other boy’s name in return, but he stops himself.

They’re not allies. Definitely not friends. He’s just some strange kid that keeps challenging Ace to fights. Eventually he’ll get tired of losing all the time and leave. So what if he wanted Ace’s real name? Soon enough, everyone will know who he is.

Ace walks away instead.

The other boy keeps challenging him.

* * *

One day, Ace loses.

He doesn’t expect it. Their matches have been getting longer and longer, harder and harder to win, but he’s never doubted his victory. He never loses in Gray Terminal, not even when they ambush him three against one. Except now, this kid has him bruised and on the ground with the tip of his pole at his throat. The kid looks just as shocked as Ace does. Then his weight shifts, and Ace thinks he’s about to die. He can barely move. Definitely can’t fight back. He’s lost; what other outcome is there?

Except the other boy lets the pipe fall and laughs. He collapses to the ground beside Ace, grinning and panting, and Ace is still ten steps behind and unsure what’s happening.

“Finally! I’ve been training for ages! We’re even now, and I’m gonna keep it that way. Just you wait; I can keep up with you.”

Speechless, Ace stares up at the sky. He can hear the laughter and satisfaction in the other boy’s voice. He’s acting like this is a game. That’s not how this _works_. Not in the Grey Terminal. People around here fight and die. Friendships damn well don’t exist, and any alliance is broken in the same breath its formed.

His shoulder gets nudged, and he looks over to see the blond boy right next to him. The grin is there, just like always.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that stuff you stole when we met! Now that I won, I expect it back. What do you need all that money for anyway? I’ve heard about how much you steal, and it’s not like you’re buying things in Goa.”

Ace stays silent for several second as time ticks away. The other boy keeps staring at him, waiting for an answer with that same friendly look on his face. Ace hasn’t told anybody about his dream, not that there’s many people to tell. Dadan doesn’t care ‘bout that stuff, and like hell he’ll tell Garp anything.

“I’m gonna buy a boat and sail away from this shitty island,” Ace says. It’s the first time he’s properly put words to his dream. The words have a weight to them, like sharing his plan makes it more real. A fact, not some distant hope.

“You’re leaving?”

The kid sounds so horrified that Ace laughs. He hasn’t laughed in a while either. It’s a good feeling.

“Not for a while. I need to get stronger, and ships cost a lot of money. Especially good ones.”

Ace refused to buy some dinky sailboat that would sink after the first big storm. He wasn’t planning on coming back or settling down a few islands down the line. He was going far away. To the Grandline, even!

The kid keeps staring at him. Then he nods, like he’s made a decision. “You can keep the money you stole from me, but on one condition! We’re gonna buy that boat together.”

“We’re what?”

“Sailing together. You and me. I want to get off this island as much as you, and we can do it faster and better together.” He grins, bright and excited. “We’re good rivals, but I bet we’d be even better partners.”

Ace squints at him, trying to find the deception. There has to be some kind of trick. Some plan to steal his treasure or a long con he’s planning. The guy just seems honest though.

“I don’t even know your name,” Ace says, because he’s too surprised to say anything else.

“It’s Sabo! I introduced myself the first time we met. A couple times after that too. I know you heard it.”

Ace shrugs as much as he can while lying on the ground. “I didn’t care then.”

“You do now?”

Yes, Ace thinks, and the immediacy of the thought is almost frightening. He’s always preferred being alone before. Never needed anyone, never wanted anyone, and why should some strange kid from Gray Terminal change that?

Except, he’s been challenging Ace for months now. Next to Ace, he was probably the strongest fighter around. He defeated Ace, and then he just laughed, like they were just playing around. Ace wasn’t stupid enough to trust him, but he could keep him around. At least for a little while.

“I bet I can collect more money than you,” Ace says.

Sabo lights up at the challenge. Ace doesn’t expect it to last. He gives it a couple days. Maybe a week before something goes wrong or Sabo betrays him.

* * *

Months later, Sabo is still there.

They fight a lot. Spars, Sabo calls them, but that just means they stop when someone goes down. Ace wins most of them, but Sabo holds his own. He’s learning how to fight dirty, and he’s a lot stronger than when he first arrived. Strongest person in Grey Terminal aside from Ace, and the only person who ever beats him. Maybe that should make Ace nervous, but Sabo just laughs and updates their score whenever he wins. And yeah, something’s going to go wrong eventually, but Ace can handle it then. For now, he has a narrow lead on this week’s victories, and he’s determined to hold onto it.

Inevitably, Ace notices Sabo’s flowers. Normally, he doesn't bother with that stuff. He doesn’t care about other people’s lives or soulflowers or whatever. This is Sabo, though. He’s different.

At first, he waits for Sabo to start asking questions. That’s the other thing about soulflowers; everyone asks about them. The kinds of flowers and meanings. Locations. Theories about the injuries or scars they represent and what it tells you about the person. Ace started stabbing people who ask him about soulflowers when he was eight, and he still gets a question every couple months.

Sabo never asks, though. Ace returns the favor, but he doesn’t stop paying attention.

It gets hot in the forest, but Sabo never takes off his jacket, just like Ace never removes his shirt. He’s not the same as Ace though. Flowers often curl around his fingers and up his neck. Once Ace starts noticing, he can’t stop. Sabo always has new flowers. They grow and fade, and sometimes Ace can make out the shape of fingers. They're not the kind of marks you get in a fight. Not the kind of injuries anyone should have. Ace might not have much experience with normal people, but he knows that much.

Eventually, Ace realizes he hasn’t seen new flowers on Sabo’s skin, not like he used to. Sabo doesn’t say anything and still doesn’t take off his shirt, so Ace doesn’t mention it. For a long time, things are good.


	2. Luffy

Luffy just... happens. There's no better way to put it. Garp drops his grandson off--his _real_ grandson, not some dangerous responsibility like Ace--and after that Luffy is always there, running after him and refusing to give up, no matter what Ace tries.

Ace doesn’t like him. It's not personal at first. That comes a little later, the first time Luffy opens his mouth and refuses to leave him alone. Before that, though, Ace hates the sight of him.

Luffy is covered in soulflowers, more than anyone else Ace has ever seen. They stretch over half his face and cover the rest of him in large patches. Ace wonders what kind of scars they're from. He wonders how anyone could survive that kind of injury, and he pushes down an unpleasant, unwanted jealousy at seeing the proof of someone's soulmate displayed so proudly.

He overhears Garp talking to Dadan later, after Luffy falls asleep. Garp talks about illnesses and spots that've been growing and growing for years. Ace creeps away and returns to his room, which Luffy is apparently sharing now. Luffy sleeps all sprawled out, and his marks are on full display. There's not much space left on his skin; it’s all flowers. Sickness. The thought makes something weird come to life in his chest. It's not quite satisfaction or pity or anything he can put a name to, but it's unpleasant either way.

Huffing, Ace turns towards his own sleeping mat. Garp might have dropped Luffy off like him, but he's not Ace's problem. He's still little too, so he'll have his hands full with just the mountain bandits, let alone everything in the forest. 

Except, Luffy doesn't let Ace forget about him. He's always there, following him and being an annoying brat. He's weak, but he's way more determined than Ace thought. That first day, Ace expects Luffy to give up after a few minutes, when he realizes how dangerous the forest is. Maybe after the first time he gets seriously injured, or after a couple weeks when he gets bored.

Luffy doesn’t though. He keeps going, day after day and fighting his way further into the forest. He’s always waiting when Ace gets back too, either in Dadan’s house or the nearby forest. He talks to Ace without caring about the silence he gets in return, and every night he drags his sleeping mat close to Ace’s.

Sometimes, when Luffy is distracted, Ace stares back, especially at the tangle of flowers covering Luffy’s skin. Luffy’s an idiot, but he’s not blind. Eventually he notices. He grins and holds his arms out to better display the markings.

"Aren't they pretty? Makino helped me figure out what kind of flowers they are. The prickly white ones are stinging nettle, and the bright red ones are ken-ne-dia! Makino said they mean my soulmate's gonna be real smart and strong."

He sounds out the last flower like he'd painstakingly memorized the syllables and still wasn't quite sure how they fit together.

"Doesn't nettle mean death?" Ace says. He doesn’t know much about flowers--he avoids them as much as he can--but he remembers the ones that meant bad luck. Luffy keeps grinning like he's never heard of the rumors.

"Makino said it means life too. It's both! My soulmate's gotta be really strong to fit such an important flower, and I can't wait to meet them."

Luffy laughs again, that same bright, carefree sound as before, and something dark and angry flares to life in Ace's chest.

"Don't be stupid. They'll probably die before you meet them."

Luffy's grin drops right off his face. Ace has never seen Luffy serious before, and he's reluctantly impressed at the fierce look Luffy levels at him.

"Take that back," Luffy says.

“Or else what?”

Instead of answering, Luffy lunges at him.

The fight lasts longer than Ace expects. Luffy is weaker, but he’s unexpectedly vicious. He claws and bites when Ace tries to pin him, and he stretches and squirms in weird ways. Ace wins, of course. He doesn’t say anything after. He doesn’t rub Luffy’s dying soulmate in his face again, and he definitely doesn’t apologize or take back the words. Then he leaves to find Sabo, just like always.

It's the first time Luffy doesn't try to follow him, and Ace thinks he might've finally chased Luffy off.

Luffy is quiet that night. He doesn’t try talking to Ace, and he doesn’t pull his sleeping mat closer. Ace doesn’t care. Luffy is weak anyway, and he doesn’t matter. Ace is gonna leave this shitty island and never see him again. He’s almost asleep when he hears Luffy shifting closer.

“You shouldn’t be mean. I forgive you though,” Luffy says.

He doesn’t wait for Ace to respond before rolling back over and starting to snore. Ace feels frozen, laying there with his back to Luffy. It’s a long time before he falls asleep. The next morning, Luffy smiles at him, and he tries to follow Ace again.

* * *

Porchemy happens. Luffy almost dies for them. If he and Sabo had been a second later to find him, Luffy would be gone. Ace knew he doesn’t deserve that kind of loyalty—neither of them do—but Luffy offered it up anyway. So Ace stops running away, and Luffy catches up. Ace doesn’t help and he definitely doesn’t go easy on him, but he slows down when Luffy falls too far behind. He keeps an eye on Luffy too, in case he gets in over his head. Which happens often.

Ace never had someone he wanted to protect before. Sabo never needed it, and he hasn’t cared about anyone else. He doesn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. Even if Luffy is a crybaby.

* * *

Luffy doesn't know about their unspoken agreement to avoid talking about soulflowers. He's not smart enough to realize it on his own either, which is why he shouts and latches onto Sabo the first time he sees a flower peaking over the edge of his cravat.

"It's so pretty! What is it?"

Luffy reaches out to touch, and Sabo flinches away. Luffy doesn't try again, but he keeps staring expectantly at Sabo, waiting for an answer. Ace expects Sabo to push him away--it's what he would do--but Sabo doesn't. He glances at Ace like he's nervous about something, and then he pulls down his cravat to give Luffy a better look.

"They're mostly phacelia flowers. They're poisonous," he says. "There's rue in there too; that started showing up recently. They’re about endurance and new beginnings. I used to get a lot more marks, but it stopped a couple years ago."

Luffy gasps and makes admiring noises, and Ace stares. He’s gotten used to ignoring the flowers, and seeing them on display feels invasive and weird.

While Luffy asks questions and pokes at Sabo's marks, Sabo sneaks a glance at Ace. Ace can read the question in his stare. He shrugs and looks away. Sabo can talk about his soulmarks if he wants. It doesn't bother Ace. At least, it bothers him less than the thought of Sabo hiding it instead. Sabo grins, and Ace knows he made the right choice, even if it makes something unpleasant churn in his stomach.

"Wanna see something cool? You guys can keep a secret, right?" Sabo says, and he immediately has Ace's full attention. Luffy nearly falls over from nodding so hard, and then Sabo actually takes off his jacket. He had a thick undershirt underneath, and Ace stares in disbelief as Sabo fidgets with the fabric.

The thing is, Sabo never takes off his shirt, not ever. Before Sabo moved into Dadan’s place, Ace could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Sabo without his full outfit and jacket. Even after that, Sabo kept at least his shirt on, and he always bathed alone, even when Dadan got angry about wasting water and made him use the river instead.

Sabo's hands shake, and Ace almost stops him. Sabo doesn't have to prove anything. He hates the idea of Sabo keeping secrets, but he hates seeing Sabo afraid more. Luffy looks between them, confused.

"What's wrong?" Luffy says, and Sabo smiles at him, though it's strained.

"Nothing," he says, and he pulls his shirt over his head.

Sabo's back is covered in flowers. A circle stretches between his shoulder blades, and triangles radiate outward like a stylized sun. Ace bits his tongue so hard he tastes blood. The edges of the mark are clean and crisp, more like a tattoo than a mark. Tattoos don't leave soulmarks though. Only scars do that, and Ace doesn't want to imagine who would burn a mark--any mark--onto someone's back.

"What is it?" Luffy says, reaching forward to trace the edges of the mark.

Sabo twists away and pulls his shirt back down before Luffy makes contact. He's smiling, but Ace doesn't miss the way his hands are still trembling and holding the bottom of his shirt in place.

"I looked it up a couple months ago. It's a pirate flag! Neat, huh?"

Luffy's gleeful shout is loud enough to scare off the birds, and he throws rapid fire questions at Sabo. Sabo's soulmate is, apparently, the coolest person ever by virtue of already being a pirate, and Luffy only gets more excited when he learns the flag belongs to some famous Fishmen pirates on the Grandline. He has all sorts of questions, most of which Sabo can't answer. Even Goa doesn't have much information about the Grandline, and privately Ace is impressed he managed to find anything. Eventually Luffy tires himself out, and it's dark enough that Ace declares it bedtime and orders everyone to be quiet.

Luffy falls asleep first, like he always does. Ace stares at the ceiling and tries to keep his thoughts from going down unpleasant paths. He doesn't have to wait long before Sabo pokes at his side.

"Hey, Ace, you still awake?" Sabo whispers.

Ace shifts over to meet Sabo's gaze. There's no trace of his smile from earlier, and Sabo's nerves are back full-force.

"There's something else about the mark. Something worse."

Ace doesn't tell Sabo that he guessed as much or ask him why he waited until Luffy was asleep. Luffy is their brother, but he's still a kid. They're the older brothers; it's their job to protect him.

"It's only been a sun for a couple months. Before that, it looked like this."

Sabo traces something in the dirt between them: a circle with four triangles extending from it. Sabo wipes the image away almost as soon as he finishes drawing it.

"It's called the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon. The Celestial Dragons use it to mark their slaves. My- I mean, someone warned me to never show it to anybody, 'cause if the Celestial Dragons found out they'd take me too."

Ace isn’t a touchy person, but he leans closer so his shoulder knocks against Sabo's. Sabo just keeps looking at the place where the drawing had been.

"The Sun Pirates are famous 'cause they attacked Mariejois and freed a bunch of slaves. That's the kind of pirate I'll be when we leave. I'm gonna be strong enough to stop the Nobles and Celestial Dragons and all the rest!"

Sabo's voice wavers a bit, but Ace doesn't call him out on it. "That sounds like a good dream. I'm not sure you can pull it off alone though; wouldja want some help?"

Sabo's breath catches, and Ace pretends not to notice as he wipes the wetness off his face.

"Don't you dare go thinking that makes you captain!" Sabo warns. His voice is thick but impressively level, and Ace smiles.

"Fine, fine. I'm not gonna bow to you either though."

“Well, we’ll have to figure out something! We can’t both be captain.”

“Why not?”

Sabo turns to look at him, surprise written on his face. Ace’s smile widens. It’s hard to catch Sabo off-guard like this, and his expression is priceless.

“We’re pirates, right? We can do whatever we want.”

Surprise gives way to excitement, and Sabo matches Ace’s grin with his own. They fall asleep like that, with the world and all its possibilities spread out before them.


	3. Unexpected Visitors

Ace doesn’t usually pay attention to Dadan and her bandits. He outgrew them ages ago, and they’re not strong enough to hold his attention. Still, he grew up with them, which means he knows more about their personal lives than he’d like. He knows which of the bandits are soulmates and whether they’re the romantic type, knows which have outsiders as theirs, and he’s met several of those strangers, whether he wanted to or not. So, he’s used to the occasional visitor.

Luffy, however, isn’t, which is why Ace finds him hiding outside the bandit’s cabin and staring suspiciously inside. He’s Luffy, which means he’s not hidden at all. He isn’t causing trouble though, so everyone inside pretends not to notice. Ace creeps up behind him. Luffy doesn’t hear him, not even when Ace is only inches behind him.

“Whatcha doing, Luffy?” Ace says, and he’s rewarded when Luffy jumps so hard he hits his head on the windowsill and topples over. He bounces right back up and peaks through the window again, still trying to hide. Never mind the noise and how half the bandits are staring right at them.

“Somebody’s in there,” Luffy whispers, motioning for Ace to stay quiet. Indulging him, Ace hides behind the wall as he looks inside.

It’s easy to see who Luffy is talking about. An outsider is sitting in the middle of the room and sharing a bottle of sake with Dadan. He’s not one of the bandits, but Ace recognizes him, even though it’s been a while since the guy visited. He looks small next to Dadan and weirdly normal.

“That’s Jiro, a dockworker in Goa. He’s Dadan’s soulmate.”

Luffy freezes. His head turns slowly towards Ace, eyes wide.

“Whaaaaat?” he shouts. “Dadan has a soulmate?”

Apparently he forgot about being stealthy in his surprise. An empty bottle flies out and hits Luffy in the head, and Dadan started cursing at them from inside. She was probably embarrassed. Dadan was like that, especially when emotions got involved. Ace pulls Luffy away from the window.

“Of course Dadan has a soulmate. Everyone does.”

He’s not really sure how it works, considering Dadan leads a bandit crew and Jiro works down in Goa. He doesn’t know whether it’s a romantic or platonic bond either, mostly because he’s been very determinedly avoiding learning anything about them. They seemed happy enough with whatever it was, and Dadan was always more tolerable after a visit. 

When he glances over, Luffy’s looking at him instead.

“Do you have one?” Luffy asks.

“One what?”

“A soulmate. You said everyone has one, so do you?”

Ace pushes Luffy away before properly registering the question. Most people know better than to ask him about soulmarks anymore, and the question still sends a sharp jolt up his chest. He almost attacks on instinct, but this is Luffy. His little brother. So he bites back the hurt and the anger and wrestles himself back under control.

“I don’t like talking about that,” he bites out.

He expects Luffy to push again. Luffy is an endless well of curiosity and enthusiasm, and he never knows when to quit. Luffy just stares at him for a moment with something serious in his eyes, and then, unexpectedly, he nods.

“Okay.”

Ace doesn’t believe him at first. He stays tense, braced for more questions, but Luffy turns back to the cabin to speculate about Jiro. Ace keeps expecting Luffy to bring it up again, but he doesn’t. Not that night or the next day or week, and eventually Ace accepts that Luffy let it go.

Ace has never been one for physical contact. Luffy is though, so Ace awkwardly wraps one arm around Luffy’s shoulder. Luffy returns it twice over, wrapping rubber arms around Ace’s chest and laughing loudly. Ace doesn’t offer an explanation, but privately he thinks about how, somehow, he ended up with the best little brother ever.

* * *

Luffy rambles about a lot of things. Literally everything that crosses his mind. Weird clouds and adventures. Daydreams and plans. He loves talking about Shanks and the Red Haired pirates, and it took Ace months to realize the guy was a real pirate and not some story Luffy made up. He also talks a lot about someone named Makino, but those were stories about good meals and gentle hands. Nothing nearly as interesting as pirates.

Whenever Luffy runs out of stories, he goes back and starts all over again. Ace doesn’t usually pay attention, but sheer repetition engraves them in his head. They don’t mean anything though, not until Makino actually shows up.

The Dadan Bandits don’t get many visitors. The occasional soulmate is the exception, and even that’s rare. The group are bandits, first of all, which makes them dangerous to most people. They also live in the middle of a forest filled with giant animals and predators. In spite of all that, Makino and Whoop Slap come walking up the path, smiling like they were out on a casual stroll.

Ace notices Makino’s smile first and the way it grows when Luffy runs out to meet them. The second thing is her marks. They’re not as bad as Luffy’s, but they’re still some of the most striking marks he’s ever seen. Three lines of flowers cross the left side of her face, neatly bisecting her eye. It’s clearly a scar from a weapon, though not from anything Ace recognizes.

Luffy is ecstatic, of course. He clings to Makino’s legs, already chattering about something. Ace watches from the doorway. He doubts they’ll try anything bad, but he’s used to adults disappointing him. Better to be safe about it, especially when Luffy’s involved.

He’s surprised when Makino motions for them to come closer and more surprised when Sabo joins them. With both his brothers there, Ace has no choice except to follow. He stops a few steps away from them and glares up at her, daring her to say something. She just smiles at him before turning back to Luffy and answering some stupid question about the sea.

From this close, he can make out the types of flowers in her mark. They’re softer than he expected: sweet pea and buttercup, which are all about tenderness and cheerfulness. Gross and boring. A couple rhododendrons for danger peak out from the edges, so it’s not all bad. Especially with a scar like that, her soulmate has to be at least a little interesting.

Ace isn’t sure what to do next, so he just stands there uncomfortably. Usually, Ace deals with discomfort by beating up whatever is bothering him or outrunning the situation. Neither are options now, so he pretends he’s fine and totally competent at normal conversations.

“Oh, that reminds me! I brought some new clothes for you, Luffy. There’s plenty for you two as well. I just need to adjust the length,” Makino says as she rummages through her basket and pulls out some fabric.

Ace blushes when Makino turns to him and holds out one of the shirts. People don’t do stuff like that for him. They don’t smile at him or offer things for free, and something warm lights up in his chest.

He would think it was a trick, but Luffy talks about Makino like she’s the best person ever. Luffy might be an idiot, but he’s a good judge of character. She’s being honest.

He realizes the problem quickly. Makino is working with Luffy’s shirts, and none of them have sleeves.

The thing is, Ace wears sleeves for a reason. When he was little, he could never resist the temptation of searching for flowers. He was disappointed over and over again until he stopped expecting anything, but he kept searching, as if that moment might be different from the millions of tries before.

And… occasionally, there’d been times when he thought he saw color out of the corner of his eye. Except, when he looked down, there was never anything there. Those hurt the most.

Sleeves meant he couldn’t look. He didn’t have to worry about things that didn’t show up, and he stops seeing the flashes. Eventually, he stops looking for them too.

Makino smiles as she holds the shirt up against Ace’s chest, comparing the size, and Sabo and Luffy giggle at him from the side. Ace could push her away, He could run and not come back until she was gone. He could accept the shirts and then burn them later.

Ace doesn’t though. He watches Makino and scraps with his brother when they try to tease him. He’s been wearing sleeves for years, so he’s probably better now. He’s older and stronger and not gonna fall back into old habits. Besides, he’s not a coward. Not at all. He can handle anything; a little bit or skin is nothing.

* * *

Makino and Whoop Slap stay a couple days. Gramps shows up too, and Ace is too busy surviving to notice when they leave. There’s a bundle of clothes left for each of them though. Ace wears one of the shirts the next day to prove he’s not scared of anything and especially not of some stupid flap of fabric.

Luffy and Sabo don’t say anything. He’s pretty sure Sabo at least notices the change and can figure out it means something. Their unspoken agreement is still in place. Sabo doesn’t ask question

Except, Sabo took off his shirt and showed them his marks. He told Ace what it meant and why he had to hide. Ace knows Sabo doesn’t expect anything in return. Yet… Sabo is his brother now. He doesn’t want to keep secrets from them, but he already has two. He doesn’t dare tell Sabo about Roger and his cursed blood. Not now, maybe not ever. But… it wouldn’t be so bad if Sabo knew about the soulmarks.

He waits until Luffy is asleep before turning towards Sabo. 

“I’ve never had a flower,” he whispers. It’s the first time he’s said it out loud. Garp and the bandits already knew, and he’s never told anyone else.

He’s not sure what to expect. He doesn’t want platitudes, and he’s not sure what he’ll do if Sabo starts talking about age differences or missed opportunities. Excuses and theories that don’t mean anything because he’ll never know. Instead, Sabo nods and pulls his sleeping mat closer. It takes him a long time to fall asleep, but Sabo is beside him the entire time.

* * *

Ace wakes up when Luffy screams. He's up in an instant, grabbing his pipe and searching for intruders. Except it's only them in their tree house, and the pre-dawn light illuminates everything easily. Ace even sticks his head out the window in case there's something outside, but they're alone and Luffy hasn't stopped crying. They're big, messy sobs too, the kind Ace hasn't heard since Before, with Porchemy.

"Geez, Luffy, what's this about? You have a nightmare or something?"

If he did, Ace is gonna hit him upside the head for scaring him like this. Except, Luffy doesn’t get embarrassed or act all tough like he usually does. He’s still wailing like he’s in pain. He doesn’t look up either, not even when Sabo crawls over next to him.

"C'mon, stop crying already. Nothing even happened," Ace says. Luffy doesn't react at all, which isn't right. The unease from before comes back, and Ace hates the feeling. Like something is actually wrong, and he can’t do anything about it. Like he’s weak.

"Ace, look," Sabo says quietly.

Ace huffs and moves closer, uncomfortable around Luffy's loud, hitching sobs. He scans his brother for an injury or something, but Luffy’s fine. He's even taken his shirt off, which is weird, but it makes him really sure Luffy isn’t hiding some kind of injury.

"I don't see anything. Luffy's just-" Ace starts. Then he realizes, and he chokes on the rest of the sentence.

Luffy's skin is bare. His markings--his soulflowers--are gone. The nettles and violets that have covered Luffy for as long as Ace has known him vanished, leaving only unmarked skin behind.

"Shit," Ace says, feeling like something is crushing the air from his chest. And all he can think about is how he'd once taunted Luffy about his marks, when he'd said that his soulmate was probably sick and dying somewhere. Back then, he'd been darkly satisfied at the thought. Now, he'd give anything to have been wrong.

Hesitant like he never, ever is, Ace sits on Luffy's other side and pats his back. Luffy keeps crying obnoxiously, but for once Ace doesn’t tell him to shut up, even though he hates the sound.

"Luffy?" he says. "Lu?"

Luffy doesn’t answer, but he twists to grab Ace's shirt and buries his wet face against his shoulder. Ace cringes at the feeling and his hands hover awkwardly in the air. He isn’t good at this. He really isn’t. Luffy isn’t letting go and Sabo keeps making encouraging gestures, so Ace lets his hands rest on Luffy's back and made some rubbing motions. That's what you’re supposed to do with crying people, right? Pat their back? Luffy just clings tighter until Ace worries his shirt will tear under his hands.

Eventually, Luffy cries himself back to sleep. His head is in Ace's lap, and Sabo is right next to them. Ace still has no idea what to do.

"You think they're really gone?" Sabo asks, all quiet so he won’t wake Luffy up again.

"Duh. The hell else would it be?"

Soulflowers don’t just vanish like that, not unless the other side dies. Injuries fade slowly and scars linger, but sudden erasures--especially when someone has as many as Luffy--only ever mean one thing.

"I know, I just-" Sabo trails off, fiddling with the brim of his hat. "It's not right. 'specially not with Luffy. He deserves better."

"Yeah, well, deserving got nothing to do with it. The soulmate stuff is broken anyway."

Because if anyone ever deserved to be happy and have all that soulmate junk, it’s his little brother, who never stops smiling and was willing to die for two kids who never did anything but hurt him. He isn’t cursed like Ace. He’s good.

Ace didn’t think he could hate the soulmate stuff any more than he already does. That night, watching Luffy sleep, he learns he was wrong. He hates it so much it hurts, and there’s nothing he can do.

* * *

Ace braces himself for more tears the next time Luffy wakes up, but they don’t come. Instead, Luffy is quiet, which is almost worse. He keeps looking at his arms like he doesn’t quite recognize them and flinching when he sees the bare skin of his reflection. Ace doesn’t know how to make him smile again. Not after something like this.

Luffy still trails after them like always, but he keeps falling behind instead of fighting to keep pace. Ace tries to slow down, but he keeps getting frustrated instead. He hates waiting for even a moment, hates every hint of weakness. He doesn’t blame Luffy, not at all, but that doesn’t make it better.

He’s about to snap--and probably shout something he doesn’t mean, not really--when Sabo kneels in front of Luffy and holds his hands out.

"C'mon, Lu. Just this once, alright?"

Luffy wipes at his eyes again and climbs on, wrapping his arms and legs around Sabo a couple extra times. He keeps his head down too, even when Sabo starts to run, and Ace looks away. Luffy is a lot of things. He’s a crybaby and weak and never knows when to stop, but he isn't a coward. He’s supposed to be shouting and smiling all over the place, not hiding under his hat and acting like the world was ending.

They leave him by the side while they train and near the river while they hunt, and Luffy doesn’t try to join in all day, not even when Ace throws him some meat without even pretending to fight for it. Sabo carries him back home too, and Luffy doesn’t climb down after they reached the hideout. He stays like that, wrapped around Sabo like he’s afraid he'll disappear if he lets go.

When Ace creeps close enough, he gets pulled in too. Ace grumbles and rearranges the rubbery limbs until he’s more comfortable, but he doesn’t yank himself free. Luffy still doesn’t smile, but he looked less miserable like this, with the three of them together. So Ace grits his teeth, and he stays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Law figured out how to use his Devils Fruit! Isn't it exciting?


	4. Sabo

Luffy gets better eventually. He starts smiling again and challenging them like he used to, and Ace can pretend everything is alright. They go days then weeks where Luffy acts like normal, until something reminds him or he suddenly gets all quiet again. It’s still the three of them, though. Brothers. That’s enough.

Then the Nobles happen, and Sabo isn't there anymore. He’s with his parents—his _blood_ family—and he’s doing well. Ace is… he’s angry. Sabo was theirs. He’s not allowed to leave them behind. This is supposed to be good for Sabo though, so Ace grits his teeth and lets him go. They’ll still have their pirate crew later. Sabo won’t give up on their dream and especially not to play house with those Nobles.

They manage for a bit, but then there’s Bluejam with his tricks and bombs. Ace is so damn proud when he beats him and carries Dadan home. He feels powerful and important, and he rides that high until Dogra comes back with news about the Celestial Dragon and Sabo.

Then Sabo is dead, not just somewhere else. Dead and gone, and they won’t ever be pirates together.

Luffy cries. He cries when he hears the news and in the days afterward. He cries openly and unashamedly, and this time Sabo isn’t there to sooth him. Only Ace.

Ace cries too, at night when nobody can see the tears, not even himself. He tries to wait until Luffy is asleep, but somehow his little brother always seems to know. They end up tangled together with their sleeping mats pressed against each other.

It doesn’t help. Nothing does, especially in those first few days. It’s something though. Ace still has one brother left, and he won’t let anything happen to him. Never.

* * *

They learn to function without Sabo. Ace hates every moment of it, but he has Luffy to focus on. Luffy is his and Sabo’s little brother, and that doesn’t change, even though Ace is the only one left to protect him. He swears, to himself and to Sabo’s memory, that he’ll never let anything happen to Luffy.

Sabo isn’t there to help with the emotional stuff either, so Ace tries to learn. It’s hard. Harder than fighting Bluejam or taming the forest. Sometimes, Ace’s anger feels like a living thing that’s eating him up and wants him to burn everything else too. He won’t let it have Luffy though.

So Ace learns. He figures out how to push the anger down instead of running away and waiting it out. He can’t run off on his own when it gets bad anymore. Sabo isn’t there to keep Luffy company, and Luffy hates being alone more than anything.

He talks to Makino and watches the people in Foosia, and he practices being nice and polite and all that softer stuff he always ignored. It doesn’t work in Goa, where politeness only seems to hide what people really mean. Luffy though… He lights up when Ace is nice to him. With him, it isn’t hard at all.

He and Luffy stick together, but sometimes Luffy wanders off on his own. Usually it’s because he finds something interesting or wants to train, but every so often Ace finds him on the cliff overlooking the sea, staring out at the waves. Sometimes, when Ace walks up, Luffy is grinning, like he’s imaging setting out and all the adventures waiting for him. Those days, he comes home excited and rambling a mile a minute about the future.

This time, Luffy is quiet. He’s curled up and staring at the horizon, and Ace knows this visit won’t end with happy chatter and stories. Ace hesitates at the treeline before taking a deep breath and walking closer.

He’s still no good at the comfort stuff, but he’s getting better. Most of the time Luffy just needs somebody to keep him company when he gets like this.

Luffy smiles when Ace sits down and scoots closer so he can wrap his arms around Ace. Usually Ace pretends to be annoyed, but this time he just slings one arm around Luffy’s shoulder in return. It’s a while before either of them speak.

“We should find her,” Luffy says.

“Who?”

“Sabo’s soulmate. She’s still out there right? On the Grandline with her pirate crew. So we should find her.”

In all the time Sabo’s been gone, Ace has barely spared any thoughts to his soulmate. Sabo was theirs—his and Luffy’s—and his soulmate was nothing more than potential and a collection of marks on Sabo’s skin. Clearly Luffy thinks different. Considering Luffy’s skin, which was now as bare as Ace’s, he should have expected this.

“The Grandline’s a big place. It’ll be a challenge, especially without a name to go off.”

He expects the grin that Luffy turns on him. “Then it’ll be an adventure!”

After that, Ace really has no choice but to agree.

* * *

Eventually, Ace realizes he hasn’t thought about Sabo in days. The thought stops him in his tracks, and he finishes his hunt on autopilot.

It used to be he couldn’t go an hour, a minute without thinking of Sabo and the unbearable ache of his loss. The ache wasn’t unbearable anymore, though. It was just normal. Being without Sabo was normal.

Makino said it was natural. Memories fade and the pain softens, but that doesn’t mean you’re forgetting them. You carry the dead with you in other ways.

Ace refuses. For years, Sabo was the only thing he had. Without him, Ace might not be here at all. They were supposed to be pirate captains together, and Ace will carry Sabo with him in every way he can.

That afternoon, he goes down to Foosha. There’s an old farmer with a steady hand and a homemade tattoo gun, and he trades tattoos for any offering that catches his fancy. So Ace brings part of a tiger’s pelt with him, and he tracks down the farmer.

Ace has a small scar on his arm, where some trash had cut into his arm that first time Sabo won their fight. When they’d exchanged names and dreams. Ace doesn’t have many scars, but he’s proud of that one.

So he colors Sabo’s pirate flag on top of that scar, bold and unmistakable. He surrounds it with his own name, and he wears the combination proudly as he walks back to the mountain.

Luffy laughs when he sees it and traces Sabo’s mark.

“He’ll always sail with you,” he says.

Ace spends the rest of the night convincing Luffy that, no, he shouldn’t get a matching tattoo. He only succeeds because Luffy can’t decide where in his name he’d put Sabo’s flag. That, and his rubber skin wouldn’t hold ink well.

Besides, Sabo was always going to sail with Ace anyway, and Luffy would catch up afterward. It was only fitting that Ace would carry their brother to sea when he left.

* * *

Ace is used to Luffy getting excited and acting weird, so he doesn’t even flinch when Luffy slingshots himself onto Ace's back, shouting and laughing and shoving his arm in Ace's face. The tears are weird though; Luffy was a crybaby, but he always has a reason. Ace pushes Luffy's head away before any tears or snot gets on his neck.

"Oi, quit it!" Ace says, dodging Luffy's flailing arm before it smacks him in the face. Instead of listening, Luffy just laughs.

"Look, look! It's back!" Luffy shouts, and he stretches his arm so Ace has to stare at it, not that he knows what he’s looking for.

"I am! There's nothing there."

As quickly as the rubber limbs appeared, they pull away. The recoil knocks Luffy over, not that he seems to notice. He stays sprawled on the dirt, staring at his arms with this lost look on his face. The laughter vanishes like it'd never existed, and Ace stands there dumbly, unsure what’s going on but not liking it one bit. Luffy just keeps staring at his arms, twisting them around like he expects to find something different. When Ace steps closer, Luffy holds his arms out towards him, like he’s asking for help.

"I don't get it. They were just here. I saw them!"

"Saw what?"

"My _flowers!_ "

Ace flinches back, and Luffy looked like he’s about to start crying again. They don't talk about soulflowers. Not ever, when there was nothing for either of them except grief and disappointment. If someone tried to trick Luffy or something, then Ace is gonna find them and rip their spine out with his teeth.

"Luffy..." Ace starts, and then he has no idea what to say next. Scrubbing at his eyes, Luffy scrambles to his feet.

"Don't look at me like that. It's true! I looked down and they were there, just like they used to be."

Yeah, okay. Once Luffy calms down, Ace is going hunting, and he'll make whoever tricked Luffy wish they'd never been born. Luffy must have noticed what he was thinking because his face screws up in frustration.

"Stop it! I mean it, just-"

Luffy glances at his arm as he winds up one of his rubber punches and freezes, like he forgot he’s supposed to be attacking. The smile comes back full-force. Luffy is pathologically incapable of holding a grudge, but this is weird even for him. Then, for the second time in under a minute, Ace has a hand shoved in his face again.

"See? See? I told you!" Luffy shouts as Ace pushes him away again.

Ace opens his mouth to argue but then snaps it shut. There really is a bright line of color circling Luffy's forearm. Ace grabs Luffy's arm to hold it still, and he can't deny it. A line of nettles and kennedia has taken root, and they're the exact same flowers that Luffy had before.

It's weird though. The line of flowers is so thin it's barely visible, and it forms a perfect circle like it'd been carved with a sword or scalpel. It reminds Ace of an amputation, not that he says the thought out loud.

"It's different from earlier. The last one was a line, right here!" Luffy says, indicating a spot running up the inside of his forearm. Another weird spot for an injury.

Together, they stare until, a couple minutes later, the flowers abruptly fade from existence, leaving an unmarked wrist behind. Luffy frowns and pokes at where they used to be, as if he can coax them back to life.

"Mystery flowers?" he whispers, and for once Ace wants to agree.

"It's probably some kind of devil fruit," Ace says, because devil fruits are usually the answer to weird mysteries.

Luffy lights up, and he spends the rest of the afternoon chattering about his flowers and soulmate and devil fruits. For once, Ace isn't annoyed at all. He grins along with Luffy and shares speculation with him. Small, precise markings keep appearing up and down Luffy's body, though they never last long. Luffy stares at each one until it fades, tracing the flowers with his fingers and grinning like a loon.

That night, for the first time in years, Ace strips down and looks for flowers. His skin is as empty as it always is, and Ace tells himself he isn't disappointed.

* * *

As time passes, it's harder and harder to find people to fight in Goa. People avoid them like the plague, and disguises stopped working ages ago. Not that it matters; normal fights don’t challenge them anymore, and picking fights against weaklings gets old quick.

The docks are usually their best bet. Pirates and mercenaries show up regularly to throw their weight around, and occasionally they can back up their boast enough to make Ace work for his victory. It's good practice for Luffy too, who's still determined to figure out his rubber attacks.

They get lucky the next morning and find a new ship in the docs, proudly flying a pirate flag. They don't even need to chase down the fighters. Apparently Goa is getting a reputation for the demon children who defeat everyone that comes near, and a few hotshots want to make a name for themselves by removing the menace.

Luffy is working on speeding up his rubber punches, which means his aim is worse than it's been in ages. The first couple guys laugh, but they stop after Luffy finally hits one of them. Luffy has still never beaten Ace in a fight, but he's gotten pretty strong; his punches hit hard when they connect.

Ace lets Luffy have his fun and steps in when backup arrives. Luffy could probably handle the entire group on his own, but Ace is getting bored sitting on the sidelines. Clean-up doesn’t take long, but the fight was a good warm-up.

Afterward, Luffy pauses to pick something up. They’re halfway home before Ace realizes it’s a knife, which is weird. Ace doesn’t have anything against knives, but they’ve never used them. Luffy’s too obsessed with his punches and devil fruit, and Ace prefers his fists and pipe.

He’s curious about the knife but not particularly interested until they get back to the treehouse. Luffy sits in the middle of the hideout, frowning at his arms. Another few lines of flowers are crawling up his shoulder, which disappear as Ace watches.

He turns away for a few minutes, and when he looks back Luffy is holding the knife in one hand and his other is covered in blood. Face scrunched up in pain, Luffy drags the tip of the knife across his palm again.

Ace tackles Luffy to the ground. Luffy yelps and tries to wriggle away, but Ace easily pins him down and wrestles the knife out of his hand.

“What the hell, Luffy?” Ace shouts. He grabs an old shirt and presses it against Luffy’s palm, trying to stem the bleeding. Luffy whines and tries to pull away, but Ace doesn’t let him.

“What were you thinking?” Ace says because Luffy is careless and dramatic, but he’s never been self-destructive. Not like Ace.

Luffy pouts and looks away without answering, so Ace doesn’t let him up. After a few minutes, he pulls the fabric away to check on the damage. The cuts are shallow and have mostly stopped bleeding, but they cover most of his palm. They’ll probably scar, especially since there’s no chance of Luffy staying still and letting them heal.

It takes him a moment to realize the cuts aren’t random. They curve and meet in the shape of a crude, slightly lopsided heart. Realization hits Ace hard, and he presses the fabric back against Luffy’s hands to hide the injury.

Luffy’s soulmate would have a heart blooming on their palm right now. Ace has never wondered what kind of flowers belonged to Luffy before, but he bets they’re bright and happy.

“Why?” Ace asks instead, and getting the word out almost hurts.

Luffy looks up at him, and that serious look is back, the one Luffy almost never shows. He tugs his hand free again, and Ace lets him go.

“I thought they were gone, and I never got to talk to them or anything. I don’t know when I’ll get to meet them, so this is the best I can do.”

Luffy takes off the fabric again, and he smiles at the heart-shaped cut it reveals. Ace looks away first. He takes the knife with him as he stands.

“Yeah, just… don’t do it again,” Ace says.

Luffy gives him a strange look, like Ace was the one being unreasonable.

“Why would I? I don’t need another one. Unless you think it won’t scar?”

Luffy stares wide-eyed at his hand, as if horrified at the thought. Ace has to laugh at his expression, though his voice is still rough. Then he goes to grab the first aid kit, because Luffy needs disinfectant and bandages, no matter how proud he is of his new injury.


	5. Growing up

They get older. Bigger. One day, Ace looks over and realizes he isn’t looking up at the bandits and adults. He’s the same height as them now. Taller than some, even.

It’s weird.

Obviously Ace knew he’d grow up. He’s been counting down the days until his seventeenth birthday. It’s just that, aside from his brothers, he’d never been around other kids, only adults, and it’s weird realizing he’s one of them now.

Mostly, it’s boring. He’s long outgrown any of the fighters and predators around, and even the sailors and pirates coming through don’t mean anything. Ace would be tempted to leave Dawn Island early, but he’d promised Luffy. His seventeenth birthday. So, he waits.

* * *

The first time Ace collapses, he wakes up to Luffy sobbing. Ace is confused and groggy, but the sound snaps him out of it fast.

“Luffy?” he groans, pushing himself up even though his limbs are shaking.

Luffy wails and throws himself at Ace’s waist.

“Ace, you’re okay! I thought something really bad happened!” Luffy says.

Ace halfheartedly pats him on the head and waits for him to stop crying. They’re loud, messy sobs too, the kind that mean Luffy is seriously upset. He endures the mess for a bit before pushing Luffy away. Luffy goes, but he keeps Ace’s arm captive like he’s determined to hold him in place.

“What happened?” Ace asks.

He remembers sparring with Luffy—still winning every time, though he has to work for it now—and relaxing afterward. They’d even had some meat stored away as a snack. He’d been exhausted, but that had been normal for the past couple weeks no matter what he tried. And then… nothing.

“You collapsed,” Luffy says, still cuddling with Ace’s arm. He’d wrapped his arm around Ace’s several times so it was almost completely enveloped.

“You just… you were laughing and then you fell. And you didn’t get up or move after, and I was so scared!”

The tears threaten to make a comeback, and Ace pats Luffy’s back.

“Hey, I’m fine. I promised I wouldn’t die on you, right? Don’t go calling me a liar.”

He’s hoping to get a laugh out of Luffy, but it barely heads off the next crying session. Good enough. He’s still not good at comforting Luffy, but he has some experience now. He know what words to say and how to hold Luffy close until he calms down.

Luffy is a good distraction, but eventually they get home and he stops panicking. Then Ace is left alone with his own thoughts.

He has no idea what happened.

They’d been alone in the middle of the forest. Maybe someone had snuck over and knocked him out without Luffy noticing, but then why just leave them there? What would be the point? Could’ve been something he ate, but there hadn’t been anything new or weird around. He knows every inch of that forest. He’d have noticed if something changed, but it hadn’t. No matter how much he thinks, he can’t figure it out. Eventually, he decides to ignore it

Then he collapses again.

He and Luffy are alone. They’re eating in the treehouse, relaxing after a successful hunt. The next thing Ace knows, he’s on the ground and Luffy is shaking his arm again, confused and afraid.

It keeps happening. Never in a fight or down in Goa, thank fuck. It’s only when he’s relaxing. When he’s eating or laughing with Luffy. One minute he’s fine, the next he’s on the ground, snoring. Luffy stops panicking, but he gets this pinched, unhappy look every time. Ace is tired all the time too and not sleeping well, but nothing he tries makes it better.

He hates it.

He’s not scared, of course. Ace isn’t scared of anything. He doesn’t know how to fix it, so he ignores it. The attacks only happen when he’s with Luffy anyway, so it’s fine. He’s fine.

Then Luffy spill the beans to Makino the next time she visits. She insists on bringing Ace to Foosia, and Ace can’t refuse when she acts all concerned about him. It’s the only time Ace can remember seeing a doctor, and he comes away with explanations and a new word: narcolepsy.

It doesn’t help with the helplessly of falling asleep, but it means nothing worse is going to happen. He’s not dying or anything. Luffy stops freaking out, at least. Most of the time he joins him for a nap.

Ace adjusts.

The doctor gave advice about sleeping schedules and strategies, but Ace doesn’t really bother with it. Not until the first time he collapses during a fight.

They’re fighting one of the big tigers. They tigers haven’t been a challenge for years, but it’s a fun warm-up. It’s normal, at first. His blood surges with adrenaline from the fight, and he’s laughing at something Luffy said. Then his knees give out, and he falls.

It’s different. He’s awake this time. So he feels every moment of being unable to move or see. He tastes dirt in his mouth and his limbs twisted beneath him, but he can’t do anything except panic.

He hears Luffy shout. The sound of fighting. It feels like an eternity before Ace’s body responds to him again. Luffy is just finishing up with the tiger, so it can’t have been more than a few seconds. A minute, at most. Ace pushes himself upright again and realizes he’s shaking.

“Ace?” Luffy asks. The tiger is gone, scared off with one last punch, and Luffy looks shaken. He’s not crying, but he looks more scared than even that first time Ace collapsed, asleep

Ace wants to lash out. To shout and fight and make Luffy leave him alone so he can recover in peace. He swallows the urge instead and reaches back to his brother.

Luffy doesn’t let him fight alone after that. He’s always there, ready to protect him, and it makes Ace feel sick. He’s the big brother. The protector. Now he can’t even fight a low-level thug without Luffy worrying he’ll collapse and get hurt.

Ace visits the damn doctor again. He pays attention this time. Even takes notes about his suggestions. It’s all about sleep schedules and healthy habits, and Ace feels like a child the first time Luffy bullies him back to the treehouse for an overdue nap.

The annoying thing is, it works. He plans his days around naps and is careful about his sleep schedule. He falls into new patterns and eventually realizes he’s not constantly exhausted anymore. The paralysis attacks trickle away. He still gets intensely tired at weird times and keeps falling asleep unexpectedly, but that’s only when he’s relaxing or with Luffy.

He’s adjusted to worse. He can manage this.

* * *

Foregoing shirts is a deliberate choice. Ace remembers when he was young and hated the sight of his own skin. He learned to be comfortable in normal shirts, but he still has moments. Sometimes he wonders or catches himself staring at his skin, just in case. Less often now, but not never. Even after all this time.

That was the deal he made with himself when he stopped hiding, and he’s determined to carry it through. So, he stops wearing shirts for a bit. It’s more comfortable anyway, and he’s always hated running from anything, especially from himself. It takes some adjustment, but it’s better. He teaches himself not to look for flowers, not ever, and he’s damn proud of how it turns out.

Makino is both horrified and amused the next time she visits, and she convinces Ace to wear some kind of shirt, for propriety’s sake. Ace puts on a shirt for her, but he leaves it open and unbuttoned for himself.

Ace has always drawn attention when he goes down to Goa. First for his age then his reputation. Now that he’s older—and especially when he stopped wearing shirts—he noticed the stares changing, especially from girls around his age.

His first kiss is with a girl down in the farms outside Goa, and it’s nothing special. She’s pretty enough and the kind of girl who’s impressed by Ace’s reputation. A small peony curls across one finger, but not everyone wants to wait or to have a soulmate at all. The kiss isn’t bad, but Ace doesn’t know what to do or where to put his hands, and he’s not particularly interested in repeating the experience.

His second kiss is with the girl’s brother, and it’s significantly better. The guy isn’t a fighter—Ace could break him without even noticing—but he’s taller than Ace and thick from farmwork. He’s more experienced too, and Ace is an eager learner.

Eventually, Ace finds the rosemary on his shoulder and hip. They’re small, the everyday scars of a normal life, and Ace ignores them easily enough.

“You gonna ask?” the guy says once, after a new patch grows across his chest. Probably a burn, based on the shape.

“Nah,” Ace says, because he doesn’t care and he really doesn’t want to invite questions in return. He’s grateful when the conversation drops.

They fool around for a bit, but Ace eventually loses interest. The guy has no ambition past taking over the family farm, and Ace has never enjoyed idle conversation. Besides, his seventeenth birthday is looming on the horizon, and he has to prepare for his departure.


	6. Deuce

The day he turns seventeen, Ace leaves. He’s been waiting for this moment literally his entire life, but the moment is bittersweet. Sabo is supposed to be with him, arguing about who’s captain and preparing for their adventures. Ace hates having regrets, but this is one he knows will stick with him.

He’s leaving Luffy behind too, and that aches more than he expected. He’s used to having his little brother around, but he knows this is what they both need. Luffy doesn’t need his protection anymore, and it’s time for him to find his own adventures. Luffy will catch up when he’s ready.

Neither of them are big on goodbyes. He lets Luffy hug him one last time. Steps onto his boat.

Sails.

He keeps his eyes on the horizon. The first time he glances back, Dawn Island is just a shadow in the distance. Eventually, it disappears altogether, and Ace is officially further from home than he’s ever been.

He’s practiced sailing the ocean before. Experimented with tools and navigation. He’d always stayed within sight of the island, but now he doesn’t have to. Hell, if he wants, he never has to see Dawn Island again. He has the entire world spread out before him.

Ace grins, and he sails full speed towards the next island.

* * *

The ocean is beautiful and deadly and perfect. Sailing alone is an endless challenge, and Ace eagerly rises to meet it.

He knows he needs to find a crew—what good pirate sails alone?—but it’s not a priority. He doesn’t mind being on his own. He misses Luffy sometimes, but even that ache is mixed with excitement for when Luffy inevitably follows after him. For now, he has his own ship under his feet and the sea around him. He could drift forever without getting bored, but there’s more than ocean waiting for him. There’s challenges and adventure waiting to be discovered, and Ace is ready for it all.

He sails with his pirate flag swinging high, daring anyone to attack. He’s strong enough to ruin anyone who thinks he’s easy prey. Strong enough to take what he wants from the villages he passes through too, but the thought isn’t appealing. They’re not like the Nobles in Goa or the criminals skulking around its edges. Most of them are small villages, more like Foosha, so Ace sucks it up and barters for supplies.

Makino taught him manners, but now Ace learns how to be charming. He wipes the blood off his hands and leans to make people forget it was ever there. It helps that he’s attractive. He gets plenty of offers, some subtle and others more brazen, and accepts a few of the more interesting ones.

As Ace sails into his newest harbor, he can tell something is wrong. It’s a decently large town with a sizable port, and it’s quiet. Ports, no matter how small, are never quiet. Not unless there’s a reason for the locals to be hiding.

So Ace slides his ship into an empty spot near the edges, where he can slip back to sea just as easily, and he goes to investigate.

Ace likes making a spectacle. He enjoys catching people’s attention and seeing his name on their lips, knowing they’re looking at him instead of someone else’s shadow. Times like this, though, Ace pulls down his hat and creeps along the edge of town

Bars are always open, especially near a port, and Ace wanders inside. He turns on his most charming grin as he approaches the bartender. She’s young and attractive with a few deep scars along her arms. He slides a coin onto the bar as he goes, more than enough to pay for a drink.

“Got any recommendations?” Ace asks.

The bartender doesn’t return his smile, but she doesn’t look at him like he’s dirt under her boots either. The coin is quickly replaced by a beer, which Ace takes with a murmur of thanks. It’s nothing special, but it’s not swill either. A good sign.

“Is there news for a traveler?” Ace asks when he’s halfway done with the beer and the bartender has circled around again.

She gives him an evaluating look, like she’s deciding whether he’s worth the effort of conversation. Ace maintains his smile and holds eye contact. He considers getting out another coin, but the first should be enough to open.

“You should keep your head down, at least for the next couple days. There’s been a break-in at the Lord’s mansion.”

She stops there, and Ace has the impression he could learn more if he takes out that other coin. She seems like the kind to hoard information, and he bets she knows who and where and what. Everything he’d need to make this visit an easy, painless one.

Ace tips his hat, thanks her, and walks back out the door whistling. What’s the point in being a pirate if you avoid anything interesting? Fancy thieves aren’t really his speed, but he’s sure there’ll be a brawl somewhere, if nothing else.

The main roads are half-deserted, but Ace walks through them with his back straight and head held high. He gets a few strange looks, but nobody does anything about it. Not even the guards, though a few look tempted to beat the attitude out of him. Shame. Ace would have liked to show them just where his confidence came from. 

He runs into an asshole in a hurry, who nearly knocks Ace over. He doesn’t even pause afterward, so Ace feels no guilt whatsoever when he lifts the guy’s lunch from his bag. It’s a good snack, though the fruit is rotten. He takes one bite, immediately regrets it, and tosses the rest. 

He spends the morning wandering. A few shops are still open, so Ace restocks what he needs. It’s not much, considering he’s alone, but he feels more settled with a solid stockpile to keep him going. He’s feeling pretty good actually, which is why he’s caught completely off guard when his arm bursts into flame.

“What the fuck?” Ace shouts, trying to simultaneously put out the fire and scan the surroundings for his attacker. Who the hell snuck up on him? How did they manage to set his entire arm on fire at once?

People are screaming and pointing at him, but Ace doesn’t see anyone suspicious. He also can’t put out the fire, which quickly becomes a priority. The weird thing is, it doesn’t hurt. His entire arm is on fire, and there’s no pain at all. Just this intense sense of warmth. Then he looks closer and realizes his arm isn’t there at all. There’s only fire all the way through.

“What the fuck?” Ace repeats because it deserves to be said again. He’s pretty sure his arm hasn’t been amputated—he’d have noticed that, right?—but there definitely isn’t an arm there anymore. He tries to flex his nonexistent arm, and the fire moves. He swears the fire looks a bit like fingers for a moment.

He’s distracted from his observation by a loud bang and a weird sense of pressure in his chest. He looks down to see more fire in tight little circles on his chest. For a moment, he can see behind him through a hole—a hole!—in his chest. Then fire closes it up before disappearing, leaving his chest whole and normal.

“Thief!” someone shouts.

Ace has no idea what’s going on, and he’s more than a little freaked out. He does, however, have extensive experience in running from authority. So he pushes away his existential crisis and runs from what seems like the security force of the entire damn town.

He gets away easily enough. He also keeps randomly bursting into flames, which is… Alright, it’s not physically unpleasant. It’s unsettling because of how easy it is, like there’s a new, pleasant warmth waiting under his skin that occasionally burst through.

The warmth helps. It feels good, and his instincts practically purr at its presence. Ace trusts his instincts; they helped him survive the forest and the cesspit that was Goa. If his instincts are comfortable with random fire… Well, he might not understand what’s happening, but he’s willing to go along with it.

He ends up near the cliffs on the edge of the island. He has some vague plan about circling around to his ship later, after the search has died down a bit.

Maybe it’s carelessness, maybe not, but he doesn’t even see the attack coming until he’s being tackled to the ground. Ace yelps and bursts into flames—full body this time, which is beyond weird—but it gets his attacker off. He’s mildly disoriented when he reforms, but he manages to block the next attack anyway. The guy is fast, and Ace actually has to work to hold him off. It’s a good fight, but eventually they break apart to catch their breath.

Ace vaguely recognizes the asshole from that morning. He didn’t make much of an impression, honestly, but Ace makes a habit of remembering the people he might’ve pissed off. The guy looks significantly worse for wear. He’s remarkably furious too, moreso than Ace would expect over some boring lunch.

“How the hell did you know?” he shouts

“Know what?”

The guy makes an inarticulate, enraged sound and tries to strangle Ace again. Ace dodges, and he doesn’t go up in flames at all. Progress!

“The fruit, damn you! My plan was perfect! Nobody saw my face. I lost the guards. I cut it up, so there’s no way you could recognize the fruit. So how the hell did you figure it out?”

Ace is about to give the guy up as insane when it clicks. The guy’s lunch. The rotten fruit. Devils fruit tastes notoriously disgusting, and it only takes one bite to get the power.

Well. That explained the fire, at least.

“You were being an ass, so I stole your lunch,” Ace says, still a little shell-shocked.

The guy stopped trying to kill him, at least. “You… what?”

“Stole your lunch.”

“So… you didn’t realize it was a devil’s fruit?”

“Nope! Sure explains the taste though.”

The guy sinks to the ground like he’s lost his will to fight and buries his face in his hands. It’s a little disappointing, actually. The guy was a good challenge. Ace wouldn’t mind sparring with him again. Ace sits down next to him, thinking. Somehow, this guy got past all the security and guards that this town had to offer, and he did it with stealth instead of blasting his way through. He’s obviously got no problem with breaking the law either.

“I’m Ace. What’s your name?” he says,

The guy ignores him until Ace pokes his arm. He lifts his head slowly, and his glare is so full of hopeless fury it could curdle milk. Too bad Ace could’ve mustered a worse glare by the time he was ten, and it has no effect on him.

“Just leave,” he says.

Ace laughs. Like hell he’s gonna leave behind the most interesting person he’s met since setting sail. Besides, the city is still in an uproar, and he might as well have some fun while he waits for things to calm down.

“C’mon, a name for a name. Give me something to work with.”

Ace is pleasantly surprised when the guy sighs, drops his head back in his hands, and gives in.

“Deuce. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been planning that heist? I spent weeks learning their security. I infiltrated the staff. I seduced people for that fruit!”

Carefully, Ace focuses on one finger and coaxes the warmth under his skin to life. His finger bursts into flames, and Ace grins over at Deuce.

“Well, I sure appreciate the effort. I promise to put the fruit to good use.”

He’s never particularly wanted a Devil’s fruit, but he isn’t about to complain. Especially since it’s a Logia fruit and a fire one at that. That packs a damn powerful punch. The whole drowning thing is inconvenient though, especially since he’s sailing alone. He should fix that.

“So… you got any plans ‘bout where you’re going next?” Ace asks.

Deuce makes an inarticulate sound that Ace chooses to interpret as a denial.

“Great! You should join my pirate crew.”

Ace is downright impressed by the incredulous look Deuce levels on him.

“Why the hell would I join your crew?” he says.

Ace shrugs. “Well, do you have anything better planned?”

He’s taking a gamble, but he thinks he’s right. Deuce sounds like he’d been banking on the Devil fruit, and he seems to work alone. Deuce sputters a bit without answering the question, which is as good as a confirmation.

Ace has a good feeling about this guy. He wants to keep him.

“Would you feel better if I seduced you in return? Equivalent exchange and all that?”

Deuce is attractive enough that Ace wouldn’t mind a tumble. He’s strong too, which is more important. Although, if he’s gonna be a captain, he probably shouldn’t make a habit of sleeping with his crew. Deuce lifts up his head and laughs.

“Seduction? Really? You’re practically a kid, and you think you can seduce me?”

Ace narrows his eyes at the kid comment. He’s young, but he’s sure as hell not a kid anymore. He turns on his most charming grin and leans closer, moving in a way he knows shows off his muscles. By the way Deuce’s eyes flicker downward, the sight is definitely appreciated.

“Want me to prove it?” Ace purrs, and he bursts into flames.

“Shit!” Ace shouts and throws himself backwards. Turning into fire is a weird, weird feeling, considering he no longer has proper limbs or senses. He focuses on getting the unfamiliar warmth back under control, and by the time he’s done Deuce is practically on the floor from laughing so hard. Ace doesn’t even try to redeem himself. The moment is gone. Ruined. Some stuff you can’t recover from, and this is one of them.

“What the hell, why not?” Deuce says. “I have to get off this rock anyway, so I’ll sail with you until the next island. You’ll have that long to convince me to stay.”

Ace immediately forgets his embarrassment. Stuff like that is unimportant, and he somehow managed to recruit his first crewmate anyway. He’s not letting Deuce go now that he has him either.

“Great!” Ace chirps, and he throws his arm around Deuce’s shoulders. Deuce stiffens, but it’s from surprise more than discomfort so Ace keeps his arm where it is.

Ace certainly hadn’t planned on starting his crew on this island, but this is good. Perfect, even. Despite the search party still going strong outside their hiding spot, Ace can’t stop smiling.


	7. Expanding the Deck

They’re on his boat and setting out to sea when Deuce realizes he’s the only member of Ace’s crew. He predictably freaks out.

“We’re a crew of two. Two! How the hell have you survived this far?”

Ace shrugs and finishes arranging their sail. He’s already got the maps ready and a destination tentatively picked out, and he decides to hold off on asking for Deuce’s input until after he’s calmed down. Besides, Deuce is already looking a little green from the waves. He can take it easy for a bit.

“I’m strong enough to beat up anyone who thinks I’m easy pickings,” Ace answers easily. “Besides, we were both groups of one before this. Progress, right?”

He’s been winning against entire pirate crews since he was thirteen. There aren’t many people in all of East Blue that could give him a challenge, and any big shots won't pay attention to rookies. They'll be safe until they're ready to push their limits.

Deuce makes an inarticulate sound of rage, which he seems to do often. Ace doesn’t mind; they all have their quirks, and Ace can tell that Deuce isn’t seriously upset with him. Not the kind of upset that would end in attempted murder, at least.

It’s several days until the next island. Ace is a little nervous at first. He never got along with many people—only Luffy and Sabo, honestly—but he made a good choice with his first crewmate. Deuce is good company and endlessly interesting. He isn’t scared of Ace either, even after he saw Ace fight.

Within a few days, Ace starts thinking about where he’ll find the next one. He likes having Deuce around. He’s pretty sure he’ll like having a bigger crew even more, once he finds the right people to fill it.

The next island is a bust. It’s a good enough island, he supposes, and Ace fits in plenty of training time while he doesn’t have to worry about burning his ship down around them. He’s delighted to learn he can toss fireballs around. Despite his threats, Deuce doesn’t say a word about parting ways.

Another week and a couple islands later, somebody almost pickpockets him. Almost, because Ace catches her arm as soon as it enters his bag. He’s impressed; Ace knows all the tricks from his years robbing Goa blind, and few people can get close without Ace knowing. His curiosity only grows when the aspiring thief breaks his hold and sprints into an alleyway.

Ace follows, of course. He’s led on a merry little chase, and by the time he catches his thief he’s made his decision. He pounces, and together they tumble to the ground. A twist and a grapple—a motion as familiar as breathing—and Ace has her pinned. Her teeth are bared, and she pulls a magnificent counter that nearly wretches Ace off. He holds his ground and grins down at her.

“I’m Ace! You should join my pirate crew.”

She stops fighting long enough to give him an incredulous look.

“Why the hell would I do that?”

It’s a good question. Not everyone is tempted by the sea, but Ace is a pretty good judge of character. He recognizes the gleam in her eyes: a certain flavor of determination and half-desperate longing. She has muscles too, enough to make Ace thinks she’s a fighter, not just a pickpocket.

“You want off this island, right? Well, I got a ship and I’m looking for people to fill it.”

She glares at him, immediately suspicious. Ace doesn’t blame her; he’d have been the same if some stranger on Goa had offered him an escape. She’s desperate, though. Ace recognizes it in the scars on her skin and gauntness beneath the muscle.

“What d’you want in exchange?” she says.

Now they’re getting somewhere. 

“I want help sailing my ship and people who’ll have my back in a fight. I’m not gonna stop until the whole world knows my name.”

He smiles, and this time it isn’t the charming one he’d used on Deuce. This was the smile of the near-feral child he’d been before his brothers, all broken edges and fierce determination. Something changes in the pickpocket’s expression. It doesn’t soften—she’s too experienced for that—but she recognizes the look. She understands.

“I’m not gonna warm your bed, if that’s what you’re after,” she says.

Ace laughs, and he pushes his old self back down so only his own, honest amusement shows through. The statement might as well be an agreement, and Ace looks forward to introducing her and Deuce.

“Trust me, you’re not my type,” he says. “So, name?”

“Shola.”

She twists again, and Ace remembers he still has her pinned to the ground. He lets go, and Shola flips to her feet. She offers Ace a hand up instead of running.

“I don’t go anywhere without my partner.”

Ace’s eyes flick over to her flowers. Dahlia and snapdragon. Elegance and deception. There’s a lot of them too, stretching up her neck and across her face. One long, thin line crosses both her eyes. Earlier, when he pinned her, he noticed flowers etched into the eye itself. Only one question really matters though.

“Can they fight?” he asks, and he’s relieved when Shola nods. He already can’t imagine leaving port without her, but he’s not about to drag along anyone helpless.

Shola leads him through a maze of alleyways. Ace absentmindedly maps their path until they reach a nondescript doorway. The building is carved from solid stone and tucked neatly between two larger buildings. It looks like it could weather an explosion without a scratch.

“Go ahead,” Shola says.

Ace knows it’s a test. He wouldn’t be much of a Captain if he refused to meet it, so he opens the door and walks inside. There’s no light, save for a squat window along the ceiling, and Ace squints as his eyes adjust to the gloom. 

Something shoots across the floor. Ace dives to the side and lets his flames lick around his arms. It spreads light across the room, revealing a woman standing at the far wall. Her outstretched arm points towards Ace, and the things on the floor twists towards him like a living creature, grabbing onto his leg. It tightens immediately and would have cut into his skin if he didn’t instinctively flame out.

They pause there, caught in the moment between attacks. Him half-fire and her with metal glimmering in her hands. Ace doesn’t look away as he calls back to Shola in the doorway.

“Hey, Shola? Mind introducing us?”

He hears Shola behind him, and the other woman slowly relaxes out of her fighting stance. Ace follows suit, though he keeps a palm of flames burning for light.

“Jacquotte, this is Ace. He wants us to join his pirate crew,” Shola says.

Jacquotte raises an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. For the first time, Ace takes the time to appreciate her scars. They’re quite impressive and a perfect match for Shola’s marks, including a deep divot across both closed eyelids. Ace is immediately impressed by her earlier aim. Was it Haki? Something else? Then he notices Jacquotte isn’t holding the metal threads like he first thought. Instead, her fingers seem to fragment at the edges, twisting until they became the threads spread taunt across the floor.

“You’re a Logia!” Ace says.

He ignites his hand and holds it towards Jacquotte, delighted by their similarities. Jacquotte’s face tilts towards the flames, and she reaches one hand towards him.

“May I?” she asks, and Ace balks.

“I mean, it’s fire?” he says, wondering if she’d missed that little fact. “You’ll burn yourself.”

“It’s also part of you. It’ll only burn if you let it.”

Ace considers his hand, which is still burning merrily. It makes sense, even if it looks like perfectly ordinary fire.

“How about I test it on some random objects first and get back to—wait, _fuck_ ,” Ace says as Jacquotte casually sticks her arm into Ace’s flames.

It takes him a moment to realize she isn’t shouting in pain and her hand is still whole. She’s smiling, even, which means she was right. His fire hadn’t burned her.

“Huh,” Ace says, and he brings his arm closer to his face. With his normal hand, he pokes at the fire. It’s intensely warm, but not burningly so. 

“How long ago did you eat your fruit?” Jacquotte asks.

“A week or so. That’s how I met Deuce, my Second.”

She asks a few more questions. Reasonable stuff, about his crew and his plans, but Ace is still surprised. It’s been a long time since he’d been around anyone who didn’t jump headfirst into the future.

Ace doesn’t mind being ushered out of the room while the two talk. He plans on eavesdropping, of course, but that idea is ruined when he notices a faint gossamer sheen on the door. Jacquotte’s threads. He’s tempted to lean against the door anyway or burn them away, but he resists the urge. He’s trying to recruit them, not annoy them.

He’s still thoroughly miffed when the door opens and he has no idea what they’d decided. Jacquotte emerges first with Shola at her shoulder.

“We’ll come. If you betray us, I’ll gut you and dump your corpse overboard,” Shola says.

Ace’s annoyance disappears immediately, wiped away by the knowledge that he’s found more amazing crewmates. Two of them, even, when he'd barely dared hope for one. Plus, he’s always approved of bluntness and a predisposition to violence. He’s determined to be a great captain, so it’s not like she’ll ever go through with her threats.

“Great! C’mon, I have to introduce you to Deuce. I think you’re going to get along wonderfully.”

Shola only looks off-balance for a moment before following him. Deuce is already at the ship when Ace returns with Shola and Jacquotte. He’s fixing some worn rigging, and he sets it down when he sees Ace. Ace grins and waves.

“Look, I found some crewmates! We’re not a crew of two anymore!” he shouts.

Deuce stares at him, then at the two women, then back at Ace. He buries his face in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If canon won’t give you developed Spade pirates or female characters, homemade is fine :D


	8. The Spade Pirates

Back when he was a kid dreaming of piracy, Ace never thought much about having a crew. Sure, he’d daydreamed about being a famous captain with a faceless mass behind him, but the crewmates themselves had barely factored in. Not as, you know, actual people. Childhood him was an idiot. Having a crew is great.

He’s used to disliking most people around him. They’re boring or cruel or weak, and Ace had little interest in them. He’s not stuck on one small island anymore though. Every so often he runs into someone strong and interesting, and he wants them. Not everyone joins him, but enough agree to an adventure. One by one, Ace collects his crew.

He tempts a bounty hunter into piracy and stumbles over a swordsman with some skull and pirate fetish. He finds a navigator and a quartermaster, and eventually his crew is too big for East Blue to hold them. They sail for the Grandline.

Ace is happy like this. Happier than he thought he was capable of becoming.

Inevitably, soulmarks come up. Shola and Jacquotte belong to each other, of course, but the others have their own stories. Skull has somebody waiting back home and Saber’s is in the Marines. Kukai finds his after they reach the Grandline, and she’s strong enough to join their crew. Some have met theirs, some are still looking, and everyone seems to have a flower or ten to show off.

Deuce asks Ace about his flowers once. He doesn’t ask again.

It’s a small ship though, and Ace overhears some conversations. They think his soulmate died. Ace doesn’t correct them.

Except they stop mentioning soulmarks around him, and somehow that’s worse. He hates walking into a room and hearing the conversation die. It feels like he’s been cut out of part of his crewmates’ lives. They’re treating him like he’s fragile, and Ace has always hated that more than anything. Except, he doesn’t know how to fix it. He never does, not with problems he can’t beat into submission.

Luffy, surprisingly, helps, even though his little brother is half a world away. Ace loves talking about Luffy. He’s going to be big someday, and Ace has hundreds of stories about the exciting or stupid things they got up to as kids. Inevitably, Luffy’s soulmarks come up.

“He had more flowers than anyone I’ve ever seen. Seriously, they covered him. Hundreds, probably. He was so proud of them too, and I swear he had each and every flower memorized.”

Ace smiles at the memory. Sure, he’d been annoyed back then, but he’d disliked everything about Luffy when they first met. That had changed quickly. Deuce and the others look uneasy though, and Ace belatedly realizes the kind of assumptions they’d be making.

“He’s better now! We think it was some kinda Devil fruit, and now Luffy just gets these weird lines and stuff. He’s really excited about setting sail and finding them.”

Said soulmate wouldn’t deserve Luffy, of course, but Ace was sure they’d be happy no matter what. Luffy wouldn’t allow anything less.

He’s in a good enough mood afterward that he doesn’t notice his crew sharing meaningful glances or the whispered conversation that pops up in the corner. Even if he had, he’d have assumed it was something involving the ongoing prank war between Jacquotte and everyone else. So far, Jacquotte was winning.

Later, when he stumbles back yawning from his nap, he doesn’t expect to be grabbed and yanked into a particularly rowdy conversation.

Most of the crew is jammed into their quarters, and Banshee pulls him towards the center, where Kimel is hunched in on himself. He’s grinning through his embarrassment, though his grin wavers when he sees Ace.

“Oi, Captain! We’re taking bets on Kimel’s new flowers. What do you think?” Banshee asks.

Kimel’s eyes widen in panic as Banshee pulls him towards Ace, brandishing his arm like it isn’t connected to the rest of Kimel’s body.

There’s a bunch of new spots spread across his skin. Ace might’ve mistaken them for freckles, except he knows they weren’t there yesterday.

“Lemme see,” Ace says, and he pulls Kimel’s arm closer. Kimel is barely breathing. It’s probably more of that bullshit awkwardness about soulmates, so Ace ignores it.

The dots are these absolutely tiny soulflowers curled up in clusters across his skin. Most of them are over his upper arm, and they disappear under Kimel’s shirt.

Banshee is still hovering behind Kimel’s shoulder, grinning at someone behind Ace. Someone discreetly passes her some coins. She must’ve won some other bet or dare; good for her. Ace doesn’t care so long as the chaos doesn’t reach him.

“They look kinda like sparks, right? Like she was standing too close to some fire and got burned. My money is on her being some kinda metalworker.”

Ace hums thoughtfully, unconvinced. Something about the shape and spread of the marks doesn’t feel right for metalworking or any kind of fire. He can’t quite place what they remind him of, but he can practically feel the knowledge hovering just out of reach.

“Just your arm?” Ace asks.

It takes Kimel a moment to answer. “Mostly that arm. I’ve got some on my neck and back too though.”

Ace nods absentmindedly and leans closer to the marks. Kimel slowly relaxes under his touch and even laughs at something Deuce says. Ace pokes at one of the bigger flowers and grins as he finally remembers.

“Ants,” Ace says decisively as he releases Kimel’s arm.

“What?”

“Pretty sure those are bug bites. My money would be on fire ants, though I guess it coulda been some other kind of insects. She wasn’t wearing any protective clothing, so obviously she wasn’t expecting to get hurt. The way the flowers are all bunched together makes me think she laid down on an anthill or something.”

Ace… _might’ve_ done the same thing a few times when he was younger. Some of those anthills were well hidden, and it was an easy mistake to make.

Banshee shoves her way forward again and groans.

“Ah hell, I think he’s right. Bug bites, ugh. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that before.”

A groan goes up around them, and money starts exchanging hands. Someone presses a small coinpurse into Ace’s hand. He didn’t technically make any bets, but Ace accepts the reward with a tip of his hat.

“An anthill,” Kimel says and snorts. He’s got this sappy look on his face as he touches the thickest cluster of marks.

Ace grins and gently shoves Kimel’s shoulder. “I think your soulmate might be a dumbass,” he says.

Kimel’s grin just widens. “Then she’ll fit right in here,” he says.

Spectacle over, his crew disperses into smaller groups across the ship. Ace stretches and moves to join them when Deuce sidles up beside him and slings an arm around his shoulders.

“Thanks, Captain,” Deuce says.

Ace gives him a weird look but doesn’t shake him off. “For what?”

Deuce shrugs and doesn’t answer. Ace elbows his side but doesn’t argue. Deuce can be all mysterious if he wants. Right now, the sun is warm, and they have a nice breeze blowing over the water.

It feels good.

* * *

For the most part, Ace is pretty good about managing his narcolepsy. He’s had years to get used to it, and his coping strategies work. He’s careful to keep a solid sleeping schedule and times his naps by the sun. He gets a reputation for it too. The good-natured teasing is a novelty. There was nothing good-natured about the people in Goa, and Luffy was too straightforward to tease anyone.

After the first few months, Ace starts to relax—properly relax—in a way he he only ever did around Luffy. He doesn’t realize quite how much he trusts them until the first time he dozes off during a meal. 

He wakes a minute later to shouting voices and hands on his shoulder. Mihar—their medic—looms over him, and Ace blinks up at him in confusion. He rubs at his eyes, still tired.

“Ace! What happened? How are you feeling?” Mihar says and rattles off another half dozen questions. He pokes at Ace too, checking his vitals and looking in his eyes until Ace bats him away.

“I’m fine,” he says, suppressing a yawn. He’s still tired, but it’s not the overwhelming weight from before. It’s manageable.

“You collapsed!”

“I fell asleep. It happens.”

He still has half his dinner left, so Ace picks his fork back up. The food isn’t cold, so he can’t have been out for too long. Everyone is still staring at him, which Ace ignores in favor of more important things.

“So… this is normal for you?” Deuce asks. Ace nods, and Deuce punches him in the side.

“Asshole! I thought you’d been poisoned or something.”

Ace accepts the hit and keeps eating. Everyone is calming down and returning to their meals. They keep sneaking glances at him, and his oldest crewmates don’t leave his side. Deuce stays on his right, and Jacquotte claims the seat on his left.

Ace is mildly perturbed. Sure, he knows his relationship with sleep is weird. The world is a big place though; it can’t be that unusual, right?

Then again, Luffy had been scared when it first started happening too. He can’t exactly blame his crew for acting all protective now.

“Is this something we should worry about?” Jacquotte asks.

“Nah. ‘S just sleep.”

“Not even during battle?”

Ace shakes his head again. “It only happens when I’m relaxed. Before this, it was only when I was alone or with Luffy.”

Only in their treehouse too, which was home and safe in a way not even Dadan’s place had ever been. This ship though… _his_ ship, filled with the people he chose. Yeah, it’s home too.

Ace nearly chokes as Shola latches onto his back and slings one around his neck, laughing.

“Love you too, Captain,” she says, just loudly enough for Deuce and Jacquotte to hear. Ace blushes violently and shoves her face away. Shola goes easily and relocates to Jacquotte’s lap, finished inflicting sentiment on Ace.

“Is there anything else we should know?” Deuce asks.

Ace thinks about it. He only hesitates a moment before admitting to one of his biggest vulnerabilities.

“Things get dicey if my sleep schedule gets messed up. I can tell beforehand if it’s getting dangerously bad though.”

Falling asleep was occasionally annoying, but it was the other bits he hated. Losing control over his muscles. Collapsing. During his first cataplexy attack, he’d been hunting one of the tigers when he’d lost control. He’d hit the ground with his face buried in the dirt, unable to move or see. If Luffy hadn’t been there, he might’ve died there, killed by a stupid tiger.

Yeah, Ace doesn’t take chances with that stuff. Someday, the entire world will know his name, and that means he can’t die from stupid shit.

* * *

Ace has bad days. Days when he imagines being alone again. He dreams about being captured and locked away as the world curses his name. Having Deuce and Shola and Jacquotte and all his nakama turn away from him or wield the knife themselves.

He wonders, sometimes, how his crew will react if they find out he’s Roger’s son. On his better days, he hopes they’ll be like Luffy and laugh it off. On his worst days, he knows they’ll abandon him.

He’s good at hiding his bad days. It’s easier than faking politeness was back in Goa, and this is his crew. They matter far, far more than some uptight merchant. On the worst days, though, he finds warm cups of tea at his elbow, extra sweet just how he prefers it. He can’t brood without somebody—or multiple people—stopping by to check on him.

His crew feels like a gift he doesn’t deserve. He’s a pirate, though. He’ll take them and hold on as long as he can.


	9. Chapter 9

For a long time, Ace hadn’t understood the appeal of Devil Fruits. He’d seen how much trouble Luffy’s fruit caused him, with its unpredictability and weird side effects. Plus the swimming thing. Having to rely on someone else to fish him out of the water? Nope, not his thing. Besides, he’d always been strong enough without one, so what was the point?

Then a Fruit had fallen into his lap, and well. Not like you could un-eat a Devil fruit. Besides, Ace would say he got lucky; he's always been fond of fire. 

It almost feels like Ace was made for his fruit. The warmth settles so naturally under his skin that he can barely remember being without it. And, sure, he misses swimming, but he has his crew watching his back. He's figuring out how to throw fireballs and control explosions, and he’s stronger than ever.

The big attacks are fun, and they come easily. He’s… not so good at the fiddly stuff. The details and tricks for the times that call for some subtlety. Jacquotte is, though. She’s a Logia too, and her control is better than Ace can dream of having. She’s also willing to teach him, so Ace tries very, very hard not to hate her lessons.

He doesn’t succeed.

“It’s still just fire!” Ace groans.

Small balls of fire sparkle in the air, taunting him. Ace twists his hand so they spiral around them. None of the balls flicker out, not even when he twists them into new shapes and spirals. His control, at least, has improved, even if his progress is nonexistent on Jacquotte’s other techniques.

“Your fire isn’t ‘just’ anything. It’s part of you.”

Ace glares at her and debates tossing one of his mini-fireballs at her head. Her threads are out; she’d probably dodge it. If not, there would only be minor burns. That was nothing.

Instead he groans again, shuts his eyes, and lets his fire fan out. He can feel each spark as he moves it through the air. More progress, he supposed. That was all he could sense though. Everything outside his flames was still black.

Something slices through his fire, scattering sparks through the air. His focus breaks, and Ace scrambles to pull the fire back together before it dissipates. He’s only partially successful, and he cracks open an eye to glare at Jacquotte.

She’s still sitting on a boulder and isn’t even facing him. Not that it matters; Jacquotte’s threads stretch across the ground, and Ace knows she can see the rude gesture he aims at her back. Jacquotte just laughs.

“You’re still too focused on your eyes. It’s _fire_. Normal rules don’t apply. You can sense where you’re going in Elemental form, correct? This is no different.”

Ace grumbles and resists the urge to argue. His elemental form is different. He’s still got a vague human shape, and his normal eyes don’t stick around to confuse him.

The real problem is that he knows she’s right. When he changes, he’s fire through and through, but he can see anyway. Logically, he can use any of his fire to sense what’s around him, like Jacquotte with her threads.

Except he can’t seem to get the hang of it, and he hasn’t made any progress in ages, ugh.

"Sadist," Ace groans. "I can't decide if you're better or worse than Gramps."

It's impressive, really. Gramps had driven them into the ground every time he visited. The constant ambushes. His ridiculous strength and the complete lack of mercy. Jacquotte isn’t tormenting him the same way. Instead, she’s forcing him to keep using some of his worst skills. Frustration simmers in his chest, and he has to keep pushing it down.

This is useful stuff. He specifically asked Jacquotte to help him. So, he's not allowed to take his anger out on her.

Jacquotte seems to pick up on his frustration anyway. She motions Ace to stop, and he collapses to the ground with a grateful groan. Jacquotte joins him a moment later, sitting much more gracefully beside him.

"Gramps?" she repeats.

Ace shrugs. Huh, guess he hasn't mentioned Gramps. Or anyone from before besides Luffy. It wasn't like he was hiding anything, but their time before the Crew didn’t come up often. Why should it? He was happily focused on the present and their plans instead, and the past didn’t matter half as much. Jacquotte is asking though, so Ace answers.

"Yeah. He was _relentless_. The guy would show up a couple times a year for his training trips. It was miserable."

"And useful?"

Ace is surprised into laughing. "Yeah. It kept us alive."

He hadn’t appreciated it at the time, but Gramps had done his damnedest to prepare them for the world. He and Dadan were pretty shitty caretakers, but Ace doubts he’d have survived to adulthood without them. And… looking back, he can tell how careful Gramps was with them. He was a Vice Admiral and a legend, but they’d never gotten worse than bruises from him. They'd never been scared of him either, not in any way that mattered.

Not that Ace will ever tell the guy. Gramps is arrogant enough without him adding to his swelled head.

Too soon, Jacquotte stands and, groaning, Ace joins her and prepares his fire. Thankfully, their training is interrupted by Deuce shouting about some giant wildlife trying to eat their ship. Jacquotte looks at him and smiles.

“We’ll pick up tomorrow,” Jacquotte says.

Ace shrugs, unconcerned. Tomorrows are for plans and dreams, not worrying about anything. He’ll deal with training when it comes up. For now, he’ll focus on saving their ship

* * *

The first time Ace sees snow is on the Grandline. Goa was a tropical place, as were most islands they in East Blue. Grandline weather is insane too, which means Ace’s first experience with snow involves a blizzard so thick he can hardly see.

Ace is delighted. He’s a little disappointed he can’t feel the temperature change, but it’s not much of a loss. The snow melts before it reaches his skin but, if he focuses, he can bury his Fruit enough to touch. Touching the snow means he can shove it down other people’s shirts, which turns into some very entertaining afternoons.

His crew steadily accumulates coats and winter gear. Despite the occasional snow attacks, Ace often finds himself surrounded by crewmates. He, apparently, puts out heat like a furnace, and he’s happy to flare his Fruit to help his crew warm up. He’s also perfectly comfortable in his shorts and open shirt, though he gets strange looks even from his crewmates.

The snow gets even heavier as they approach the island. It’s a popular port, and this time they’re determined to keep a low profile. At the last island, they ended up crashing a festival and wrestling some oversized animals that turned out to be some big-shot’s pets. They’d left in a hurry, so they’re in increasingly desperate need of a restock.

Ace nearly topples over when something smacks him in the side of the head. Cursing, he grabs it and is surprised to feel fabric under his fingers.

It’s a coat. Long. Standard issue. Pretty boring, honestly, aside from its potential as a projectile.

“Good aim, but the force was kinda weak. I’d recommend something a bit less fluffy next time,” Ace says, looking up to find Jacquotte and Shola walking towards him.

A hat hits him next, then gloves. Ace catches them, bemused, before trying to hand them back to Shola. She doesn’t let him, and Jacquotte has a pair of thick pants folded over her arm too.

“Looking at you is physically painful. Put on some clothes,” Shola says.

Ace laughs and flexes his arms. “What, and cover up these babies? I’m not gonna deprive the world of this kind of eye candy.”

He expects the laughter that comes, and he even drops a wink to extend it a bit longer. Jacquotte isn’t impressed, and she pushes the coat back into Ace’s arms.

“Just put them on. We’re trying to blend in this time, remember? A stranger walking around half-dressed in the dead of winter is exactly the opposite.”

Ace feels his smile grow strained. The thing is, she’s right. Ace wants to join his crew in town. He’s also starting to get a reputation, and his normal outfit will draw way too much attention. Ace is all for some chaos and a good chase, but they need to resupply first.

He was ten the last time he wore sleeves. It'd been back when his anger felt like a living thing inside him. He’d been hateful and miserable, unable to stand the sight of his own skin.

Ace tries to imagine putting on the coat, and he feels sick. He tosses the coat back at Shola, but he can’t shake the crawling itch of memories on his skin.

“Fine, I’ll stay on the ship until restocking finishes. We need people to play lookout anyway.”

Shola frowns and looks at him with the beginnings of concern, like she’s not sure whether Ace is joking or not. She walks towards him again, brandishing the coat like she’ll force it onto him. Normally Ace would enjoy the game of it, but not now. Not this. 

“Seriously, it’s just a coat. Put it on, and I’ll-”

“Any closer and I’ll burn it to ash.”

Shola stops. Ace’s hands dig into the wooden railing, and he barely recognizes his own voice. It’s flat. Angry. It sounds like he used to be, but Ace isn’t like this anymore. The shock on Shola’s face brings him back, and shame floods in.

“Shit. Sorry,” he says, and he turns away. “I’ll just-”

He doesn’t know what to do, so he lets his fire take over and leaves. The other end of the ship is empty, and Ace stumbles back to tangibility. He’s shaking, but he doesn’t let himself fall apart. It was just a coat. He’s an adult now, not some scared little kid, and he's supposed to be better than this.

Something nudges his side, and Ace flinches away. It’s only Kotatsu. She’s probably cold too, and Ace has always been her favorite heater. She nudges her way under his arm, and Ace rests his head against her fur.

He messed up. _Shit_.

* * *

He'd found a small nook where nobody can stare at him. They all know where he is on the small ship, but they give him space long enough that Ace's emotions start to settle. When the sun rides low in the sky, Deuce comes after him. Ace still has Kotatsu sprawled against his side, purring loudly. He focuses on his hand in Kotatsu’s fur as Deuce joins him. 

The silence between them is heavy, and Ace can feel Deuce looking at him. Ace doesn't know what to say, and he waits for Deuce to break the silence.

“Help me understand?” Deuce says.

Ace doesn’t look at him. He watches Kotatsu curl around his legs instead, chasing the warmth. Ace feels unsteady, but not _bad_ , exactly. Somewhere along the lines, he's made his choice without realizing it. He trusts Deuce more than anyone besides Luffy. This isn’t like his bloodline. The only thing at risk are his emotions, and he can trust his crew with those. So, Ace opens his mouth and starts to speak.

“When I was a kid, I hated seeing my skin. For a few years, I kept everything covered so I wouldn’t have to look at it.”

Three years. Almost four, between giving up on his flowers and meeting Makino. The clothes had stopped him from checking for flowers, just as he’d wanted, but they’d also been a kind of cage. He’d been afraid, and he’d let it control him. It still does, sometimes. He has days when the sight of skin makes something in him ache, even if he doesn’t let it control him anymore.

“Wearing normal shirts was a way to be in control again. To prove I could handle it.”

He has more he could say. Explanations, emotions, _something_ that will make Deuce understand what it was like. The words turn stale on his tongue, and all he can think about are the whispers in bars and backalleys on the nights he hated himself enough to listen. The merchants and drunkards of Goa had called Roger’s son a devil, but they’d called Ace soulless.

“I’m sorry about your soulmate,” Deuce says.

Ace’s breath catches for all the wrong reasons. Of course. His mysterious, tragically dead soulmate. It would be so easy to go along with the lie. He just needed to stay quiet. Let Deuce and everyone else keep their assumptions.

Sometimes, it feels like he’s drowning under the weight of both secrets. He can’t share one, but maybe it’ll feel better if he shares the other.

“I never had one. Not a single flower. I don’t know why.”

Another lie. He knew about his cursed blood. His delayed birth. He was never supposed to have existed, so of course he doesn’t have a soulmate.

If he asks, he knows Deuce won’t say anything to the others. Hell, if he says nothing, Deuce would keep quiet. Instead, when he leaves, he tells Deuce he can share it with the crew. He trusts Deuce to hear what he doesn’t say: that he wants them to know, but he can’t handle having this conversation over and over with them.

Deuce nods. That night, when Ace joins them for a meal, he expect them to act differently. Losing your soulmate is a common enough tragedy, but not having one at all? Ace hasn’t met anyone else like him.

Except, nobody says anything. They laugh and joke around as always. Ace keeps waiting for something to change, but it never does.

* * *

They’re within sight of the island when Shola comes up to him with more fabric in her arm. Ace watches her approach, tense but withholding judgment. He’ll wait for an explanation first.

Shola shakes out the fabric, and Ace notices it’s different design. It’s more of a cloak than a coat. Something that would cover his shoulders but leave his arms free.

“Will this work?” Shola asks. “It’ll help you blend in from a distance, at least.”

Ace takes the cloak before answering and swings it over his shoulders. He’s not used to wearing so much fabric, and the sensation rankles. It’s bearable though. Ignorable, almost, especially after he pulls his arms free. When he smiles at Shola, it barely feels forced at all.

“Yeah, this’ll work,” he says.

The visit goes off without problems. They get their supplies. Afterward, they mingle with the locals and relax with a few good-natured brawls. Saber accidentally offends a local noble, so they end up kick-starting a coup that’s apparently been brewing for years. By the end, they’re almost disappointed to put the island behind them.

As they sail onward, Ace holds the cloak in his hands and considers burning it. He doesn’t need it anymore, and Ace looks forward to wearing his normal clothes again. Instead, Ace folds it up and stuffs it into storage.

The whole point was to stop running away from his own skin. He refuses to replace that old fear with a new one; he can wear clothes when he needs to. Ace refuses to accept anything less from himself.

* * *

Sometimes, Ace wonders if his crew gets into more trouble than the average. Then again, the Grandline is supposed to be a crazy place, and they have their quiet moments too. Times when they reach a new island without anything noteworthy happening. They explore or train or chat with the locals, and everything is fine. Those weeks are honestly a bit boring, but they always move on before Ace gets too stir-crazy.

It’s their last night on one of those perfectly normal islands when they decide to visit the port’s main bar. It’s full of sailors and pirates, and Ace’s crew fits right in. Ace watches over them as they spread out in ones and twos to enjoy their last night on land.

Ace is considering starting a good-natured brawl when he hears somebody mention Rogers’ name. Ace feels like the air has been knocked out of them. Before he can think it through, he has the guy’s shirt in his fist and is _politely_ asking for clarification.

“It’s Whitebeard; the Pirate King’s old rival, you know? Only pirate who ever gave that bastard a run for his money. The bigshot hasn’t been seen this far down the Grandline in a decade.”

Whitebeard. The name rings a bell; half the island has been buzzing about his upcoming visit. Ace hadn’t paid it any mind. Sure, the guy is an Emperor, and Ace plans to challenge him eventually. They’re not in any rush though.

Except, he’s not just an Emperor. Not anymore.

In a daze, Ace makes his excuses and leaves the bar. The fresh air doesn’t help. It feels like something is burning in his chest, and it has nothing to do with his Fruit.

He never knew Rogers had a rival. Someone who is still tied to his name, decades after his death. And he’s nearby. The door opens again beside him, and footsteps approach.

“Ace? Are you alright?” Deuce asks.

Ace considers the question. He’s not hurt. Not even drunk. He’s fine, really. Except, he recognizes the burning drive settling into his bones. He’s felt echoes of it recently, when they’re facing a tough fight or Ace stumbles across his newest crewmate. This force is different. It’s a demand. A pull as strong as seastone drawing him forward, and Ace refuses to take a single step backwards.

“I’m going to do something stupid,” he says because he believes in being honest with his crew.

All things considered, Ace is pretty good at being honest with himself. He knows who and what he is, and he knows what he’s getting himself into. Whitebeard is an Emperor. The Strongest Man in the World.

The Pirate King’s rival.

Ace is good, but he knows he’s still a rookie. The best damn rookie on the Grand Line, but nowhere near the level of an Emperor. Yet, Ace can no more let this go than he could ignore the call of the sea.

“How stupid?” Deuce asks.

Ace doesn’t answer.

“Shit.”


	10. Whitebeard

That morning, Ace slips out of the ship alone. This is his fight. His past, his problems, and his recklessness. Ace will lay down his own life without a second thought but never his crews’.

He doesn’t run off completely unannounced. He’s a Captain, after all, with responsibilities and stuff. He writes a note. It officially leaves Deuce in charge and orders them to set sail if he doesn’t return within a week. Then he goes to find Whitebeard.

He doesn’t expect Jinbei.

Normally, Ace would be overjoyed at fighting a Warlord. They’re strong, and Jinbei is the most powerful opponent Ace ever faced. It’s a good fight too. There are no tricks. No interruptions. Jinbei is powerful and honorable, and he matches Ace blow for blow for hours.

Ace can’t enjoy the fight. He only feels that burning in his chest pushing him onward. Jinbei is a distraction: a roadblock to his real goal. For every second that Jinbei delays him, Ace sees his chance of challenging Whitebeard slipping away. Even as Ace gets the upper hand in the battle, he knows he’s losing. Jinbei only fought to stall him, and he succeeded.

Finally, Jinbei falls to his knees. Ace hardly feels the victory.

Movement on the other end of the beach. Ace turns, baring his teeth at whatever new obstacle dares get in his way.

For a moment, Ace thinks his mind is playing tricks on him. That he’s so desperate to prove himself he’s conjured a vision of the Moby Dick and her crew. It’s real, and Ace breaks into a feral grin. Whitebeard didn’t leave. Ace still has his chance

Ace is exhausted. His fire is burned almost down to cinders, and his entire body shakes with exhaustion. Beating Jinbei took nearly everything he had, and he’s hardly a match for Whitebeard even at full strength.

Ace doesn’t care. Whitebeard is here. Ace has never in his life ran away. He smirks at Whitebeard and lets cockiness roll over him like armor.

“Whitebeard. I’ve been looking for you, old man,” Ace says.

Whitebeard’s laugh is as big as he is. “Oh? What does an infant like you want with me?”

“To defeat you.”

Ace summons his flames. He attacks.

* * *

Whitebeard doesn’t have a scratch on him when he finally pins Ace to the ground. His grip is like steel, and his hand covers most of Ace’s chest. He’s using Haki too; Ace can’t use his fire to escape. He barely has the energy to struggle, and Whitebeard doesn’t move an inch.

Ace glares up at him, teeth bared, and waits for him to end it.

Something collides with Whitebeard's arm. His grip doesn't budge, but his muscles tense as if he's pushing against something. As Ace watches, a latticework pattern presses into his arm, like wires are constricting his skin.

Ace recognizes that attack, and it feels like his flames turn to ice.

Jacquotte.

He still can't move, can barely breath, and he cranes his neck to look behind him. Jacquotte is standing there, shoulder raised towards Whitebeard and arm transformed into its logia form. Sunlight glints off the threads stretching between her and Whitebeard.

"No," Ace whispers. He raises his voice and screams, "The hell are you doing here, Jacquotte? Get away!"

Jacquotte isn't supposed to be here. She’s supposed to be back at the ship with everyone else. Annoyed with him, but safe. She can't win against Whitebeard, let alone his crew.

Ace was fully prepared to die here. Alone. Everything in him rejects the thought of allowing his crew to do the same, but there’s nothing he can do to stop them.

With his other hand, Whitebeard grabs Jacquotte's threads and rips them in half. They tear easily in his grip, though Ace has never seen one break before.

Ace is so focused on Jacquotte that he nearly misses the movement on his either side. Whitebeard doesn't, and he bats Deuce out of the air as easily as swatting a fly. Deuce goes flying, and Jacquotte barely throws out a net in time to soften his landing. Shola is with them, Ace realizes, and she doesn’t meet Ace's eyes. She's too busy glaring at Whitebeard with the same furious determination as the other two.

These are his three oldest crewmates. The Spade Pirate's strongest fighters. They don't stand a chance.

Ace fights like a man possessed to free himself from Whitebeard's hold. To get to his crew. Ace refuses to watch his nakama die, but no matter what he tries he's too weak to break free. To do anything.

One of Whitebeard’s crew steps forward: a large man with broad shoulders and a pair of sabers at his waist. He’s smiling as he walks towards Ace’s crew, and Ace hates him for it. Deuce attacks first, and Ace doesn’t even see the other pirate unsheathe his swords before he’s parrying.

The fight is three against one, and Ace’s crewmates are damn good, especially as a team. It doesn’t matter. The swordsman dances between Shola and Deuce’s blades, and he cuts Jacquotte’s threads before they can tangle under his feet.

They hold him off for a while, until it isn’t enough anymore. The swordsman breaks Shola’s footing, throwing her away at the same moment he gets under Deuce’s guard. His sword flickers out. Ace shouts louder than Deuce when he sees the blood.

Deuce is still standing when he stumbles backwards. His shirt is soaked in blood, and his swordarm hangs limp. Jacquotte is at Shola’s side, who is still on the ground struggling for breath. She’s cradling her wrist too. Probably broken.

They’re going to die. The Whitebeards have no reason to offer mercy. Maybe if they run… but of course they don’t. Jacquotte helps Shola to her feet, and she picks up her sword. Deuce pulls out a dagger. They’re magnificent beyond words, and they’ll fight to the death if Ace doesn’t do something.

Ace’s fire is only embers, but he feeds it with every ounce of strength he has left. His arms are still pinned, but Jacquotte drilled him until he could control his flames without moving. He breathes in and raises a wall of fire between the Whitebeards and his crew. The fire is as tall and wide as Ace can manage, and it stretches across the beach.

“Get out of here!” Ace shouts. “That’s an order!”

It’s undoubtedly his last order as their Captain. For a moment, he thinks they’ll disobey. Then Jacquotte places her hand on Deuce’s shoulder. Deuce turns away with a curse. They run. Wounded, unsteady, but alive.

Ace can feel himself shaking, and he can’t seem to get enough air. He grits his teeth and holds on even as black spots flicker in his vision. His crew is out of sight, but the Whitebeards could still give pursuit. He needs to delay them as long as possible.

He keeps the wall up until his vision goes gray and the last sparks of his fire burns out. He can’t move or even open his eyes anymore, but Ace clings to consciousness by the skin of his teeth.

The crushing pressure disappears, and Ace feels himself being lifted into the air. He hears voices, but they’re muted and indecipherable. Ace waits to die. He wants to face his death with eyes open, but his consciousness slips away before he can feel the pain.

* * *

Ace drifts in and out of awareness. Exhaustion pulls him back under every time, and he feels cold. The sensation is unpleasant and unfamiliar, but Ace’s flames don’t answer him. He hurts too. His chest burns with every breath, and each movement irritates his injuries. He doesn’t stir until he feels hands prodding at his chest.

“Deuce?” Ace mumbles.

The fingers still, and an unfamiliar voice laughs at him. Adrenaline clears the fog from his mind, and Ace jerks upright, shoving the stranger away. The man goes easily, hands raised in surrender. He has a frankly ridiculous pompadour, and something about it tickles at Ace’s memory.

“Who the hell are you?” Ace says.

“The name’s Thatch, Fourth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. I think you broke a rib, by the way. I wouldn’t recommend moving too much.”

Ace ignores him and glances around. Whitebeards. Shit. He vaguely recognizes Thatch from the crowd at the beach. So Ace isn’t dead. He’s not tied up either, and he recognizes the familiar swaying of a ship.

Has he been goddamn kidnapped? And they didn’t even bother throwing him in the brig? Ace is going to find Whitebeard and make him regret not snapping his neck when he had the chance. 

He wobbles to his feet and grits his teeth against the resulting wave of pain. His chest hurts the worst, and he can see the deep, mottled bruises from the corner of his eye. Nothing shifts though, so his ribs are probably just cracked. He can handle cracked ribs. You can fight without worrying about bone shifting and stabbing something important.

His legs nearly give out, and he can’t stop shaking. He balls his fists and locks his legs, determined not to show weakness.

“Where am I?” Ace demands.

Thatch rests his head on his hand and smiles like Ace is some kid to be indulged. “The Moby Dick. Pops was impressed with you, and it would’ve been a shame to let you bleed out on that beach. That was a great fight, by the way. We weren’t expecting anything when we first heard ‘bout some rookie fighting Jinbei.”

Ace doesn’t bother responding. Of course he put up a good fight. He doesn’t need some random stranger talking down to him.

“He’s awake,” another voice says from the front of the room.

Ace jerks around and snarls. He recognizes this guy immediately. It’s the swordsman who stabbed Deuce. Flames flicker to life around him, but they’re small. Weak. Calling them out hurts too, and Ace staggers as a new wave of exhaustion hits him.

"Careful!" Thatch says. "You really pushed your Fruit to the limits. You still have a ways to go before you're back to normal."

He reaches out as if to steady Ace, and Ace bats his hands away. He doesn’t need their help, and he sure as hell doesn’t want them touching him. His eyes flick between the two of them. He can’t take them both at once--not like this, when he could barely stand--but he'll make them regret it if they try anything.

"What do you want from me?" Ace says.

"Nothing."

Ace glares at them and wishes he had enough energy to knock the smug looks off their faces.

"Why am I here?"

"Captain's orders. Besides, it would've been rude to leave a kid like you behind. How old even are you? Twenty?"

Eighteen. Ace doesn’t correct him.

"You should've left me. My crew would have come back," Ace bites out.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

If they were smart, his crew would've set sail as soon as they reached the ship and gotten as far away as they could. Ace's crew was full of loyal idiots instead, and they would've come looking as soon as the Moby Dick set sail.

Shit, he hopes they’re alright. He's not sure what they would’ve done when they found the beach empty.

His vision wavers again, and this time Ace can’t keep his flames from extinguishing. He closes his eyes and breathes deep, fighting back nausea.

“Seriously, you should sit back down. You look-”

“I’m fine!” Ace says

He tries to step back, but his legs give out on him instead. Someone catches him before he hits the ground. The swordsman. Ace tries to pull free, but his body isn’t responding right.

“Fuck off,” Ace says, and even his voice is weak. He struggles, but the swordsman doesn’t seem to notice. It certainly doesn’t stop him from lifting Ace and setting him back on the bed. He does it gently too, as if Ace can’t handle rougher treatment. Ace wants to shout at him or at least glare, but he’s having enough trouble keeping his eyes open.

Against his will, he’s pulled back into unconsciousness. 

* * *

The next time he wakes, Ace demands to see Whitebeard. Another one of the Commanders is watching over him—Twelfth division, Haruta—and Ace is prepared to fight if he refuses. His fire’s still running low, his entire body aches, and he’ll almost certainly lose, but he’d never let that stop him. In the end, he doesn’t have to try. Haruta nods, sets down the report he was reading, and leads Ace out the door.

He’s feeling better than before, but exhaustion still drags at Ace’s limbs. He’s embarrassingly slow as they walk through the ship. Ace ignores the stares and pretends the other crew doesn’t exist. He hates being trapped here, surrounded by enemies, but he hates being weak even more. He can’t remember the last time he took so long to recover, but he’s never pushed his Devil Fruit so far before either.

He feels marginally better when Haruta leads them up to the deck and Ace steps into the open air. The smell of saltwater is stronger, and he’s always preferred being under the open sky. Then he sees Whitebeard lounging in the center of the deck and tenses back up.

Ace walks right up to his chair without hesitating. He can practically feel the weight of the other crewmembers’ eyes watching him, but Ace ignores them. Even sitting, Whitebeard towers over everyone.

“Why am I here?” Ace says.

He lost. He should be dead or, at best, left behind on that beach. Thatch had said something about Captain’s orders to bring him along, and he wants a proper explanation. Whitebeard just smiles.

“I like you. Join my crew and become one of my sons.”

Ace is too stunned to react at first. Whitebeard is… trying to recruit him? The hell?

“I am no one’s son,” Ace says when he finds his voice. “I swore to defeat you; like hell I’ll join your crew. I want off this damn boat!”

He’s so furious he’s shaking. The entire deck is watching him, and Ace wishes he was recovered enough to toss a fireball at them. Teach them a lesson about staring. Whitebeard is still wearing that damn smile, and Ace doesn’t bother interpreting whatever emotion lies underneath.

“I don’t force anyone to stay on my ship. You’ll be able to leave at the next port.”

The words put Ace on edge. They’re too indulgent, like Whitebeard is doing him some kind of favor when he’s the one who brought him here in the first place.

“How long will that be?” Ace bites out.

“We don’t often have business on this end of the Grandline. Yesterday was our last restock before heading back to our main territories. The trip should take about a month.”

“A _month_?”

Ace’s flames flare around his arms, answering his frustration. He steps forward, and the next thing he knows he’s on the ground. There’s a knee on his back, a sword at his throat, and his arms are pinned to the planks beneath him. Ace doesn’t look away from Whitebeard.

“I haven’t given up. I will defeat you,” Ace swears.

Whitebeard just motions to his crew, and the hands holding him down release him. Ace pushes himself to his feet and considers charging at Whitebeard. The bastard is still underestimating him, and he wants to wipe that amused look off his face.

Theoretically, Ace knows about tactical retreats and strategies. Unfortunately, Ace has never been particularly good at sitting back and doing the logical thing. Especially when his pride is on the line.

So, he calls his fire to his arm and attacks. The next thing he knows, his head is ringing and he’s blinking up at the sky. His back feels like one giant bruise, and his ribs ache fiercely with every breath. If a bone wasn’t broken before, it almost certainly is now. It takes him a moment to realize he’s been thrown across the ship as easily as one might sway a fly.

Humiliation burns in his chest as he staggers to his feet. He stumbles, and somebody catches him. Ace instinctively calls his flames, but a Haki-covered hand stops him.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Thatch says as he half-guides, half-carries Ace to the side. Ace grumbles a protest but can’t do much else. Soon enough he’s pushed into a bed. He’s asleep almost instantly.


End file.
